Through A Different Lens {Marina/Maya & Carina}

Groundwork Day (Chapter 16)

“To obtain legal guardianship, contact- blah blah blah. This is confusing me. Can't we just call CPS and say we want to make you Finn's legal guardian?” Maya began reading out the article online. It however was too many words for her to read right now.

“Yes, we can..but it might come in beneficial if we research it first before possibly ruining our chances all together” Carina claimed as she strolled around the kitchen, pouring two mugs of coffee and placing one on the kitchen island in front of Maya who sat with her laptop open.

“if biological mother is- blah blah- is instantly granted legal guardianship once under investigation” Once again, Maya read out the information, skipping the long dragged out words. “Okay, so we go to the courts, we get an adoption notice, they do the home visits and then we put our names down…boom, done” Maya mumbled, shutting the laptop screen down, and sliding the mug closer to her hands.

“Yes, we do all of that, but knowing all we can, will help us be prepared” Carina took a seat next to Maya at the kitchen island, pulling the laptop over and opening the screen back up. “Look, we can call CPS and discuss what we want, but bambina…I really don't want to miss something that could ruin this” Her tone was more drained, sad now. She really wanted this, she loved Finn, and she didn't want to possibly miss something that could screw up the possibility of limiting her love.

“Yeah I know. I know, I don't either” Maya reached her hand over, wrapping it around Carina's and using her thumb to comfortingly rub over Carina's knuckles. “Finn is yours- ours, okay. We will research everything if we have to” Maya reassured, offering the brunette a comforting smile. Carina nodded back, her lips pressed in a somber smile as she looked into Maya's committed eyes. “Okay, what do we need to know?” She readjusted her shoulders, shaking away the pressure of all the information before pulling the laptop back over to sit in front of her. 

Carina smiled at the action, appreciative of how committed Maya is to this, how they were both committed to this, to each other. She stood from her seat, positioning herself behind the blondes chair and using the moment to lay a kiss to the top of her head before resting her chin there. “Click that” Carina spoke, her index finger pointing to the link on the laptop. 

Maya did just that. A website loaded in, flashing different tabs and bolded letter words that immediately caught Maya's attention. She may be good at paperwork and filing, but when it came to her own research, if it wasn’t in black bold letters, then she couldn’t find the patience to search further. “Foster parents provide a temporary home for children who, for one reason or another, have been removed by the court from the care of their birth parents” Maya began reading the information, her lips mumbling as she quickling scanned through the words. “while their parents are given the opportunity to complete services that will allow the children to be returned home if this is in the best interest of the child. Most children who enter foster care return to their birth families” As the words left Maya's mouth, the recoil hit almost instantly.

The thought of Finn being away from them, in a different home, never seemed to switch in their heads. Mostly because it never seemed like an option, especially now that Mason no longer had the intentions of settling with Finn. Maya kept her fingers ghostly hovering over the touchpad, not wanting to scroll any further and possibly find herself in a position of loss. 

She didn’t want to lose Finn to some bureaucratic rule that deep down wasn’t what was in the best interest for him, and she also didn’t want to lose the future of making Carina a guardian. So hesitantly she continued to scroll. “In some cases, the birth family is not able to successfully complete services and the court permanently deprives them of their parental rights” Maya internally celebrated at the words. And although that guilty feeling of knowing that her brother may never be able to pull himself out of that state, to see his son grow up in a world that both Carina and Maya strongly try to prevent Finn from seeing as scary, it was celebratory to know that there was still a chance.