One and Only

Chapter Twenty Five

-One and Only- Chapter Twenty-Five

Caroline's P.O.V.

I'm freaking out about all this. Okay? And deep breathing can't even seem to help me!

I'm kind of stunned and amazed that this woman just dropped off this baby and left. So, as I turn on my heels and glance over at Damon and Tyler. I can tell they're just as surprised as I am.

"We need to get her to the hospital." I state firmly. Placing my hand on Abrielle's bald head and covering her body a bit more with the blanket that's she's wrapped in.

"Caroline, I'll call Bonnie. You both can go together and make sure she gets checked out. Tyler and I need to stay here. But, I'll tell her to swing by Stefan and Elena's old house. She has a spare key and I think that Elena has a used car seat for the baby, one she used when Olivia was little. Maybe even some extra clothing for her too." Damon suggestions, watching as I rest my head against the warmth that's radiating off of Abrielle's small head, leaving a small kiss on the top of it.

"Okay. But, I made that woman a promise..I'm not leaving her, not until we find her a family!" I exclaim, hearing as Tyler clears his throat to speak, walking towards me slowly as he locks his eyes on me.

"Baby..She's going to need to be adopted out and who knows if you'll be able to stay with her the whole way through." He tries to argue, placing his hand on the small of my back and rubbing small circles against my shirt.

"If I leave her...If I do that. She'll be adopted out within a few months or sooner. But, until then she'll be in the system and probably circulating from family to family. I've seen it happen..Tyler. I made her mother a promise and I'm sticking to it. Maybe we can adopt her or foster her for a while?" I blurt out in a questioning tone, watching as Tyler takes a step back and looks at me in confusion.

"But..I thought that you said-" He begins to say, watching as I lift my hand up and give him a small smile.

"I know what I said and I'm sorry. But, she needs someone Tyler...I can't break a promise. I just can't do that. Because, what if one day the mom comes back to see how she's doing and Abrielle is adopted into a crappy family? What would that say about me..What kind of person would allow that to even happen and not try to fix it? I made a promise to her mother that I would stay with her and I want to follow through, maybe we can pick out the family that she gets adopted out to." I say, trying to explain my thinking about all the guilt I'd feel if anything bad ever happened to the little girl in my arms.

"Caroline, the adoption and foster care process takes a long time and we'd have to even make a profile and do a home visit and we'd have to change our schedules..It would be a huge commitment and it would take team work. But with our schedules... I just don't see that being an option for us." Tyler's voice trails off, looking up at me as I nod at him with dark blue sad eyes.

I understand what he means. I truly get it. Taking on the responsibility of adoption or even fostering a child is a huge deal. It changes your whole life and everything you thought would be easy..turns into a challenge! That is, if you don't have the right support system.

"I know. But, we have family..We have support from our friends and we could make it work. I know it would take a while and there are no guarantees that we would even be good at it while trying to foster her. But, Tyler...maybe this is our chance. There's a reason why this young woman dropped her baby here off today and why we're here with her. I'm not leaving her alone and watching her fall through the cracks of the system and knowing that I could have done something to prevent it." I inform him, glancing over to see Tyler shake his head and exhale.