You're My Hero: A Karamel Family

I'd Love to Meet You

Kara's POV:

Everything is happening so quickly, and I'm still not quite sure I'm ready to start a family. After all, Mon-el and I are both superheroes with dangerous and busy lives.

"Kara! Come on, it's time to go!" Mon-el yells from the living room. I guess I have been in the bathroom having a quiet mental breakdown for a while now while he cleans the house.

"Okay, okay I'm coming," I say as I quickly wash my face and make sure I look like I wasn't crying. As I walk into the kitchen to grab my purse off the counter, I catch a glimpse of Mon-el on the verge of tears with an empty picture frame in his hands.

"This is where we are going to put the first picture of our new family, Kara," he says as he looks up at me with pure happiness and a soft smile. Nevermind, this family is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me, to US, and it's perfect.

Mon-el's POV

As Kara and I walk into the orphanage, we are greeted by a sweet old woman, probably around 70 years old.

"There are two rooms," she says as she guides us down a wide hallway, "One is for the girls, and one for the boys. Walk around, meet a few kids, then come back to me. My office is downstairs." Kara and I walk into the girls' room first. Everyone is running around everywhere. Although a few look at us, it is only for a split second until they go back to running around with their friends. I didn't even notice Kara left my side until I saw her in a corner with a toddler, maybe two or three years old.

Kara's POV

Through all the madness, I spot a little girl across the room in a corner with her beat-up teddy bear. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a small frame. As I walk up to her, she turns her head away from me slightly, as if to tell me she is scared and doesn't want to talk, but I get the feeling she doesn't really talk to anyone. I touch her tiny shoulder for a moment and ask her what her name is.

"Addison. I'm two years old." Her eyes shine like oceans when she looks at me. Rao, I think she is the one.

Mon-el walks up to us through the crowd of young girls.

"Who is this?" he asks with a warm, welcoming smile on his face.

"Addison," I tell him. She lights up with hope for just a moment before she asks me if I am going to adopt her. Mon-el looks at me and I back at him with the best puppy eyes I have.

"Well," he says looking at the ground then back up at Addison, "I'm Mon-el, but I guess you can call me Dad." Their smiles could light up the entire room.

Addison immediately lights up and bounces all around the room as she quickly gathers her belongings into a small bag, but she doesn't have very many.

"Mon-el, can you go get a car seat? I will fill out the adoption papers so we can go to the store and then home as fast as possible, or else we will be here all day."

"All right, but I might get lost, just a warning," he states as he places a kiss on my lips and deviously smiles. As he walks down the hallway and out of the orphanage, I grab Addison's little hand and she runs straight to the caretaker of the orphanage's office, dragging me behind while both of us giggle.

Just outside of the office, Addy stops smiling and starts to cry. Even when she's crying, she's perfect, but that's not what matters now.

"What's wrong baby?" I ask, clearly concerned. Very quietly, she responds.

"My brother..."

"Speak louder honey, I can't hear you"

"My baby brother is here," she states softly as she looks into my eyes with tears still flowing down her face. Just when we need him most, like Prince Charming, Mon-el walks in the room once again.

"Hey, what's wrong baby?" he says as he looks at Addy sympathetically. I lean over to whisper in his ear.

"She has a brother, a little one."

"Oh," Mon-el states sadly as he looks at the ground and then covers his face. Then he looks at me and before I can question him, he turns to Addy.

"Do you want us to adopt him too?"

"YES YES YES!!" she screams at the top of her lungs to the entire world. We all embrace and decide that we need to visit her brother, whose name is Dylan, according to Addy.

We find our way into a nursery that the woman we met when we first arrived forgot to mention. As we walk into the room, Addison lets go of Mon-el and I's hands to rush around the cribs trying to find Dylan.

"Mommy, Daddy, look! It's his crib!" She squeals and jumps up and down in an attempt to see him sleeping, but her inadequate height just doesn't really allow for it. Mon-el picks her up as I reach into the crib to gather the baby and all his blankets before picking him up as well. All of us stare in awe of the now-awake five-month-old baby with the same eyes as Addy. Calm, soothing, ocean eyes.

Addison beams and her cheeks sparkle as she sees her brother for the first time. It says on his chart he only got here last week, but I don't know where he was before that. I guess he was with their mother for the first few months of his life.

Mon-el's POV

After admiring my beautiful soon-to-be-son, I set Addy down and she again runs to the office, but this time didn't cry. Of course, she still sparkles even when she's crying, but I think Kara would agree with me too when I say that we prefer happy Addison. I sign where I need to sing on the adoption papers and run out the door to get another car seat. The baby store is a ways away so it takes me forever to get there, but I made it back just in time to meet Kara and company outside.

"Are you guys ready to go to the store?!" Kara asks enthusiastically while admiring Dylan.

"Yay!!" yells Addy as she jumps into my arms on the sidewalk, causing me to fall flat on my butt, which then caused her and Kara to laugh so hard their ribs hurt.

Just before we got into the car, the old woman ran out of the orphanage as fast as she could and waving her arms simultaneously as to get our attention.

"Stop! Stop!!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs. We weren't even in the car yet, but I guess she is kind of old. "There's something I need to tell you," she said quietly as if to not let Kara or Addy hear.

"Dylan, he- he, um," she stuttered.

"Dylan's mom is the same one that gave birth to Addy, as you know. She didn't have much money, and after she gave up Addison for adoption, she was heartbroken."

"And?" I said worriedly.

"And she turned to drugs. He was born addicted and premature, and while in the hospital, his mother thought that if it would make him feel better, she would steal him drugs so he wouldn't have to go through withdrawal. After she was discharged a month later due to complications of her C-Section, he didn't get the nutrients he needed in his prime time for growth and instead was going through actual withdrawal, and this time without his mother. He is very small and fragile and needs to be well taken care of. Please, make sure you give him good foods for bone growth and his immune system."

I was flabbergasted. Why would anyone ever do that to their child? Regardless, I tell her I will inform Kara later and put it behind me. No one needs to think about that happening to their baby, and he's already gone through it.

Once in the car, Dylan fell asleep as we headed into urban National City, and it was obvious Addison was tired, but she was doing her best to stay awake until I heard a distant whisper from the backseat.

"Can I go to sleep now?"

Kara reached directly behind her and rested her hand gently on Addison's knee, occasionally moving it back and forth to calm her.

"Of course baby, you don't even need to ask."

Her hand stayed there for a few minutes until Addy's breathing evened out. She looked at me with a warm smile and tears started to form in her eyes.

"Is this really happening?"

"I pray to God it is."