Look Up Child

Statements

TW: Talk of suicide

Stefania's POV

Listening to Nat describe what she walked into when she was in the house was absolutely heartbreaking. I wish I could have been there for her or experienced it for her so she wouldn't have to.

From listening to her story it looks like her aunt committed suicide. The way the officer is describing it, she had a high pressure job being a high profile lawyer and a lot of the time, it is what gets to people. Pairing that with the drinking from what Nat described in her statements, that is a fatal combination.

I keep thinking about her aunt and asking myself if she really thought about Nat at all. How it would affect her life and how it would put her in a bad way if no one was able to take her in. I know taking in a child is not going to be easy, but I would do anything to keep her safe.

I want her to be able to come to me for anything at all. I know that she is going to need all of the snuggles and all of the love and that's what I intend to do.

We finish up our statements and we were met by Patty, the social worker. She told me that I just had to sign a few papers to be able to take Nat home with me. She also needed to be by in the morning to get Danielle's signature on the papers as I told her she was getting the house ready for Nat to come stay at my house.

"Hey bambina, you ready to go?" I ask her while holding her hand. She hasn't let go of me since I first saw her in the back of the ambulance. She nods and wraps her little arms around me. I elected to just pick her up and carry her to the car. Luckily, she has been with me enough that I bought a car seat for her to keep in my car. 

I had Danielle call Connie to inform her of what happened and we assured her she would be compensated for the next two months in order for her to find different work. I wanted to throw in more for her in order to have breathing room to find a job at her own pace.

I carry Nat to the car and get her into my car. I strap her into the car seat before kissing her on the head. "Let's go home, piccola mia (my baby)." I whisper to her. 

I make my way to the front and start our short journey home. I called Danielle on the way to see how she is doing over the bluetooth speaker. She picks up on the third ring. "Hi baby, how is everything going?" She asks me. "Hi, bella. We are on our way home now. Patty, the social worker is stopping by tomorrow for you to sign some papers. Last chance to say no." I say with a chuckle.

"No way, baby. You both are stuck with me. I have everything set up, I can't wait for you two to be safe in my arms. I am here for plenty of cuddles." She says to me. "We are just around the corner, bella. I'll see you soon." I tell her. "Okay, beautiful. I love you." She tells me. "I love you." I tell her back. I'm still not over the fact we are saying that now.

We make it to my house and there she is, waiting for us on the porch. "Look, bambina. Look who is on the porch. Nat pops up and gasps in delight at who is waiting there for us.

Danielle's POV

I waited for Stef and Nat to come home after I redid the other room in Stefania's house for Nat's room. I recruited help from a lot of the Station 19 cast so it went fast.

I set up a bed for her with her favorite color. I was able to get a dresser and bureau for her clothes. I was able to convince the officers to let me pack up Nat's room only after they were about finished. I was supervised as they needed to watch what I was doing. As long as it let me get all of her things out, that was what mattered.

Jaina and Barrett were tasked with getting everything in the dressers and putting other belongings in different places. I wanted to wait to get things to put on her walls so she could have a choice. 

While they were doing that, I redid the empty room as Stef's office seeing as I made the one closest to her bedroom into Nat's bedroom. So I moved that furniture with the help of Jason and Jay. They were a big help. I added a few things here and there with pictures of all of us together to remind her of her Station 19 family.

After I got off the phone with Stefania, I waited outside on the porch. I saw Stef's car pull into the driveway and saw her point towards me. I am guessing it was her telling Nat to look at me. I was barely able to make it out of the porch before I saw Nat climbing out of the car and running towards me.

I opened my arms and engulfed her in the biggest hug after picking her up, letting her feel my presence and subtly reassuring her that I wasn't going anywhere. "I'm here, my little princess. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you." I just repeat as we stand there for a bit. I feel arms wrap around both of us and the familiar scent of Stefania's perfume. We all stay in this hug for a little while longer until it started to rain a bit. 

We all retreated inside to the warmth of Stef's house and got settled down. "Okay Nat. I have a surprise for you down the hall. I think you'll like it." I tell her and reach out for her hand to hold to bring her down the hall. "Since you're going to be with Stef from now on, you need your own space. We have to go get some things for the walls, but we can worry about that later." I beam at her.

I open the door for her to look in and she stands there astonished. "That's my favorite color, I have something of my favorite color." She says as she wraps her arms around me. "I was also able to go to the house and grab all of your clothes and belongings from your room after some convincing. So everything is here for you. We can organize it more tomorrow after we've slept." I tell her as she looks at me with tears.

"Thank you, Dani. That is so kind of you." She says sweetly. "Anything for you, my sweet girl. I would do anything for you." I tell her. She moves further into the room and arms wrap around my waist from behind.

"You did all this, bella?" Stefania asks. "I did. I wanted her to come home to some normalcy, even if it's in a new house." I tell her. "Home. I like the sound of that." She says sweetly and places a kiss to my cheek. 

"I also have a surprise for you, but let's eat something first. I bet you two are hungry. I can warm up the food for us." I tell her. "Natty, come eat something, then we can get you ready for bed." I tell her and she comes and grabs both our hands as we make our way to the kitchen.

We eat in comfortable silence with occasional conversation. We all clean up together, splitting the work so it will get done faster. We get Nat tucked into bed and reading her a story before we go for the night. "We love you, Nat. Come find us in my room if you need to." Stef says sweetly. "I love you both, goodnight Dani and Stef." Nat says groggily.

We leave the room and make our way to the couch. We sit down, Stefania leaning against me with her head in my chest. "Are you okay with me staying the night, baby? I can go home if you need me to. It's been a tough night." I tell her. "The only place I want you to be is wrapped up with me. I need you close, especially since we inherited a kid together 5 hours ago." She says, chuckling lightly.

"There is no one I want to do this with, other than you. We can do it, I know it's rather unconventional how we got a kid, but I know we will love her and make sure she is safe with us." I tell her with a kiss to the head. "You're right, baby. We will love her no matter what. We will be our own little family." She says to me and looks up. I lean down and capture her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Come on, I'll show you your surprise." I tell her and get her off the couch to bring her down the hall. "So Nat's room was your office and luckily you had another room to move this to. I wanted to make sure you still hand your office to come to whenever you needed it. I added a few things, but that's really all." I tell her as I open the door.

"Wow. Dani, I'm speechless." She says as she looks into the room. "I love these pictures, they make me so happy." She says with tears in her eyes. I wrap her in a hug and then wipe her tears away. "I'm so happy you like it, baby." I say to her. "I love it, Danielle. I love you." She says and brings me in for a kiss on the lips.

"I love you." I tell her after we pull away. "Come on, let's go to bed. I need to wrap you up so I know you're safe." I tell her.

We make our way into bed and enjoy each other's presence as we take in our new reality. I wouldn't change a single thing. Our little family is safe and I can sleep knowing my girls are here with me.