Promise from the heart

Chapter 8

Today was the day. Six months had passed and today they were on their way to the court hearing to get the boys officially and legally adopted.

They had gathered evidence to make sure that they'd be approved. Lucas has looked into Charlie's father's actions and found out the truth. One day when he came home from work he sat down with Charlie to tell him the truth, to tell him everything he'd found out.

Part of him wished he could somehow spare Charlie from that truth, but he knew he deserved to know. He deserved closure. They all did. Lucas therefore proceeded to tell Charlie that his father, Jonathan, had been living with another woman since before Charlie was born. He had been cheating on his mother, Agatha, and all this time, his business trips had merely been a cover for his other life. The life even Charlie's mother and aunt knew nothing about.

Jonathan had found Lucy one day, through one of the nannies taking care of Charlie, and had paid her and brought her home to him, to relieve himself from the duties of parenthood. The same day he introduced her to Charlie, he had put the apartment in Lucy's name. Jonathan would have been sent to prison with Lucy and the others, but he found a loophole and managed to get out on bail. Now he was MIA.

Lucy and her friends however, all but one that is, were sent to prison, and before she left, Lucas and Charlie made her sign the apartment over to Charlie. Unfortunately, the friend that got away was the one who had used the most brute force with Charlie and the one that was, physically, the most dangerous. He was unpredictable and cold. He could've killed his own mother if he felt she stood in her way. It worried Charlie that he had been the one that had gotten away.

Heidi was a little over eight months pregnant and the women in her family tended to give birth early so she could give birth any day now. That was enough for Lucas to worry about, but with the adoption around the corner and a perpetrator on the loose, he really had his hands full.

Charlie did his best to help out with the kids and do whatever he could to help Heidi out. The woman was usually loud, happy and confident but pregnancy had worn her down. She was thrilled about the baby of course, and about the adoption, but the pregnancy itself? She was so over it. Swollen ankles, exhaustion, mood swings and the desire to eat all sorts of disgusting foods had really dampened her mood. She was more than ready to get her little angel out of her womb and into her arms.

Lucas didn't tell her about the missing man when he told Charlie. Instead she only just found out about it and she was livid that he had kept it from her. Of course he only did so to keep her safe and make sure she didn't stress too much, but with the hormones calling the shots, she didn't see that as a valid reason and made him sleep in the guestroom for a full week.

The court date came quickly and the baby was still snug as a bug inside Heidi, much to her dismay. She ate spicy food, exercised and had Lucas do his share to get the process started, but when that didn't work, she decided to leave the due date up to the baby. Clearly the baby was as stubborn as she was and nothing could be done to influence them. The thought made her smile though. Soon, so very soon, she would have her darling in her arms.

For the court meeting, they were all dressed up. Lucas had helped Heidi into her dress and off the bed, which was a bit of a workout for the both of them, and then he'd gone to help the kids on with their little suits. Heidi, being hormonal and as maternal as can be, squealed loudly when she saw the four of them all dressed up in matching cobalt blue suits. Lucas had even given them little bow ties and they looked utterly adorable, even to Lucas.

Charlie looked much older than he was. He had grown a lot since he started living with them. No one said it out loud, but both Lucas and Heidi knew that was because he was actually fed and cared for, for the first time. He was not malnourished anymore and he had begun to fill out and even grow a little bit taller. It made them beam with pride to see the difference in him, in all of them. That if anything proved to them that taking them in was the right choice.