Imperfectly Beautiful (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #3)

Sons

-JORDAN-

"Oh, he's such a little cutie," Lia breathed as she cradled baby Matthew in her arms and rocked him from side to side.

When she'd first come up to our bedroom and told me that Nathan and Michelle had discovered a baby left on their doorstep, it'd taken me for a tailspin and I hadn't first known if she was joking or not, but now as we sat nestled in our son's living room with the tiny baby nestled in her arms and the basket settled next to the couch, I realized that this was real—even though it felt very surreal.

I could've sworn that it'd just been yesterday that Lia and I had been in the hospital welcoming our first two babies and now they'd both fully embarked into the world of parenthood and I couldn't be more proud of Nate or Maria. Just months ago, Nate and I'd had a series of long talks about marriage and fatherhood and he'd seemed so terrified at the time, but now watching him with his arm around Michelle and peeking occasionally at the child monitor screen to check on Nicky sleeping, I knew that he'd found his way and he was off to a great start. That transition alone made me wonder how quickly time would go before our two youngest, Natalie and Logan, would embark down the same path—especially since twenty years no longer seemed so long.

"He really is," Michelle nodded. "And he's a sweet baby. Nate and I talked about it and we're honored that this young lady would choose us as his parents, but we have no clue about the legality of it all. We didn't know if we should try to find her first or do we call the police first or the hospital?"

"Well, our next moves kind of depend on whether we can identify the birth mother," Lia said and rocked the baby. "Some states allow what's called direct placement adoptions where the birth mom can select the adoptive parents and you basically just fill out the paperwork with a lawyer, it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist. Massachusetts doesn't allow that, but you can do what's called an identified adoption where you two and the birth mother would work with an agency. She can tell them that she's chosen you guys and they would conduct the home visits and all that and finalize the paperwork."

"Okay," Nate said. "And if we can't identify her?"

"Then, things can get a little more complicated because we'll have to contact the police and report the baby as abandoned and work through social services who will kind of come in and get involved," Lia explained and Michelle's eyes widened slightly. "I don't want to scare you, I don't think either of you will have a problem getting approved to adopt. You've got a safe home, you have son, you've got a great income, but still the government would then be overseeing the care of the baby."

"So how soon would we have to call the police?" Michelle asked. "I'm going to try to look through my class records and see if I can figure out the mom by tomorrow."

"I think you'd be fine doing that," Lia nodded. "Matthew would be more comfortable here and his birth mom knows he's here. When you call the police, there's no guarantee that they'll decide to let him stay."

"Yeah," Michelle eyes got teary and she placed her hand on her baby bump. "I just can't imagine how she must be feeling right now."

"I know, my heart breaks for her," Lia said and Matthew started to cry at the sound of Nathan's phone ringing on the coffee table. "Shh, baby boy, it's okay."

Nate scooped up his phone, "It's your mom, babe, she's probably here," he glanced out the window behind me and I turned to see Michelle's mother, Marilyn Baker walking up the driveway. Nate placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself up before walking over to the door, "Hey Marilyn, come on in. Can I take your coat?"

"Oh, yes, thank you, honey," she smiled as he helped her out of it before she stepped into the house with her nursing bag. "Hey Jordan, Hey Lia, is that little Matthew?"