✨𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐭.✨

Chapter 21- Adoptions

1 week later

Olivia's POV:

Jacques stopped his taxi in front of Mulctuary Money Management, and I sighed as I looked up at the shiny building.

"Do you think this will work?" I asked.

He gently took my hand, giving me a comforting squeeze. "To be honest, I don't know," he said. "But I do hope that everything will go smoothly."

I glanced to him, smiling softly. "I hope so, too," I said. "You'll come with me, right?"

Jacques smiled back and nodded, brushing a stray piece of hair out of my face. "Yes, I'll come with you," he said. "We should get going."

I sighed again, pushing open the car door and stepping out onto the sidewalk. Jacques walked up beside me, and we stared up at the intimidating place together.

"Banks shouldn't be this scary," I muttered to myself. Jacques placed his hand on my back.

"You're just psyching yourself out because you're worried about the children," he said. "It will be fine."

"Let's go then," I said bravely, after a moment's hesitation. "It's now or never."

Jacques smiled and took my hand again. "That's the spirit, Olivia," he said.

We walked inside the building together, then up to the desk of Mr. Poe's secretary, Jacquelyn, who also happened to be a member of V.F.D.

"Jacques Snicket, Olivia Caliban," she said, with a polite nod of her head to each of us. "What brings you to Mulctuary Money Management?"

"We have a meeting with Mr. Poe," I said nervously.

She looked down at the schedule in front of her, then nodded. "He's in his office," she said. "You can go in now."

We thanked her and walked up to the door of Mr. Poe's office, standing in front of it for a moment. I could hear his coughing coming from inside, and sighed. Jacques finally twisted the door handle, and we stepped inside to meet him.

"Who is it?" Poe asked, then coughed some more.

"It's Olivia and Jacques," I said.

"Oh, yes," Mr. Poe said, smiling and waving us over. "Come in, take a seat."

We sat down in front of him, as Poe rummaged through the papers on his desk. He finally found what he seemed to be looking for, quickly scanning the paper in his hands.

"Um, we've... we've come do discuss the Quagmire triplets," I said.

"Twins," Poe said.

"Triplets," Jacques and I replied in unison.

"Well, whatever they are, you told me on the phone that you wanted to adopt them?" Mr. Poe continued.

"Yes, I do," I said, nodding my head.

"Now, their parents will said that they should be placed with family members in case of an unfortunate event which led to the parent's deaths," Mr. Poe said. "So, how are you related to the Quagmires?"

My stomach dropped. I knew that there was a possibility that something like this would happen, but I was really hoping it wouldn't. "I'm... I'm not biologically related to them," I admitted, "but they are practically family to me."

Mr. Poe eyed me skeptically for a moment, then his face broke into a smile. "Why, that's close enough, I'd say," he said. "I'm sure that the children would be thrilled to have you two as their guardians. They sure have talked about you and your husband here a whole lot."

Jacques and I glanced at each other and blushed, then started rambling over each other about how we weren't actually married. Mr. Poe just smiled and cut us off with a wave of his hand.

"No matter what you are," he said. "It does say here on your papers that you would like to adopt the children together."

Jacques and I nodded, still blushing a little. "Yes, that's what we said," Jacques said.

"How would the children's living situation work?" Poe asked. "Would they switch back and forth in between your houses?"

"No," Jacques said. "Olivia and her daughter are already staying with me, so the Quagmires would too."

Mr. Poe scribbled something down on the paper he was holding, then looked up at us and smiled, coughing with his mouth closed. "You two are now the legal guardians of Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. And, should he somehow still be alive, of Quigley Quagmire as well."

Jacques and I glanced at each other again, hopeful gleams in our eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Poe," I said.

"No, thank you," Poe replied. "That's one less set of children living in my small home. Now I just have to find a guardian for the Baudelaires..."

Jacques pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, which had a phone number on it, and handed it to Mr. Poe. "Call this woman," he said. "She's my sister, and she and her husband would love to take care of the Baudelaires."

"Are they related to them?" Poe asked, taking the paper with a cough.

"Our brother almost married the Baudelaire's mother," Jacques explained. "So my sister almost would have been their aunt."

"Well, I'd say that's good enough," Poe said. "But the Baudelaire parent's will said that the children should be raised by their closest living relative."

"My sister and her husband live in the Hotel Denouement," Jacques said. "That's just a block away."

Poe nodded and put the paper into a folder marked Baudelaire. "That is close... I will give her a call," he said. "And I'll bring the Quagmires over first thing in the morning."

We shook Mr. Poe's hand, big smiles on our faces, then walked outside and got back in Jacques' taxi. I let out a huge sigh of relief, letting my hair out of its tight bun. My eyes filled with happy tears, which I dabbed away with a tissue so my mascara wouldn't run.

"The Quagmires are safe now," Jacques said, as he started the taxi. "And the Baudelaires will be too."

"Do you think Y/n will be happy about this?" I asked. We hadn't told her about adopting the Quagmires yet.

"Of course," Jacques said. "They already love each other like siblings."

"What about you-know-who?" I said.

"I'm leaving to find him tomorrow,"  Jacques replied. "I know where he is and I'll bring him back with me."

"Good," I said.

I glanced out the window, my stomach full of nervous butterflies. I hoped I would be a good guardian for the Quagmires, and that the Baudelaires would be happy and safe with their new guardian as well. I hoped that Jacques' rescue mission would go smoothly, and that I could give the Quagmire's lives a bit more joy. But there were so many what if's about everything that I could only focus on everything that could go wrong, instead of what could go right.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that Jacques had pulled up to his house until he gently squeezed my shoulder.

"Are you alright, Olivia?" he asked.

I jumped a little, startled by the sudden sound of his voice. But I smiled and nodded. "Yes, just thinking," I said.

He tucked some of my hair behind my ear, then gave my forehead a gentle kiss. "Everything will be alright, Liv," he whispered.

I smiled again, my heart warming at the nickname. "I know," I said. "And thank you, for everything."

Jacques smiled back. "You're very welcome," he said. "Let's go inside."

(A/N) sooooooo, here's this chapter, i guess. kind of Jalivia. more of a filler chapter. I can't promise the next one will be more interesting, but we'll see how it goes 🤷‍♀️

yep. that's it for now. love you guys ❤️