Always been you//Jolex

Chapter 31

I sit on the bed, smoothing down my dress. Alex sits besides me and wraps his arm around my waist.
"You look perfect." He says, gently kissing my temple.
When I don't respond, he cocks his head and slowly rubs circles on my back. "What's going on?" He asks, running his other hand through my hair.
"Nothing. Just a big day." I say, kissing him back and standing up.
In my life, 3 truly great things have happened to me. Marrying Alex, adopting Sadie, and having Emerson. And today, I get to celebrate one of those things. Today marks 1 year since we officially adopted Sadie. 1 year had gone by since I became a mother, since I held my little girl in my arms and got to call her my daughter again, since I stood before a judge who decided that Alex and I were fit parents.
365 days of cuddles, smiles, giggles, tears, goodnight kisses, hellos, goodbyes and I love yous.
I go to pick Emerson up from out of the bassinet beside the bed and head down the stairs. She was in a frilly little dress with a matching bow, and she looked adorable.
It was late August, and with school starting up again and people on vacation, we decided to only have a few people over today.
It was just gonna be Mer and her kids, Amelia and Link, and Maggie. I figured it'd be a good chance to swim and play in the yard before it got too cold.
As I walk down the stairs, Em starts fussing, so I take her out onto the front porch and sit on the steps. She looks around vigorously, her eyes moving from one thing to the next. Since learning she loves being outside, we've spent entire summer outdoors.
Even though I went back to work shortly after the end of the school year, Alex and I still made plenty of time to do fun things with the girls, and we tried not to work nights at the same time so one of us was home for bedtime, but during the day we hired a nanny, and we sent Sadie to a STEM camp every day from 8:00 to 3:00.
Being back at work is certainly chaotic, because it means I need to wake up at 5:00, get myself and the girls ready, pack lunches and wait for the nanny to arrive, then work until 6:30, feed 2 hungry kids, help Sadie with homework, and once I finally get to sleep, I have to wake up a few hours later to do the baby's night feeding. All with Alex's help, of course.
Every day, I'm infinitely grateful for my family, but I don't thank god or the universe. I don't think I'm lucky. I know I only have what I have because of the amazing doctors who saved me and Sadie's life, and the love of my life who never left my side, and the beautiful little girl who let me and Alex into her heart .
"Alright, pumpkin. Let's get you back to daddy so I can check on your sister," I say, adjusting her on my hip and bringing her into the living room. I put her in the playpen and give her a few of her favorite toys- some teething keys, a sensory blanket, and a rattle ball. I sit her up using a pillow, even though she can almost do it on her own, and call for Alex.
"Alex, can you come sit with Emmy for a little bit?" I ask, awaiting his response.
"Coming." He says, appearing in the doorway a moment later.
Once he's with the baby, I go up to Sadie's room to make sure the star of the show is all ready for her big day. But when I walk into her room, her clothes are still laid out on her bed, and she's sitting in front of the mirror looking at her scar.
"Hey Sadiebug, whatcha doing?" I ask.
"I have a big scar on my chest. And some people think scars are ugly, by my scar is special. It's where Doctor Maggie gave me a new heart because my old one was sick. But now, I think maybe it wasn't sick, it was broken." I folds my arms and tilt my head inquisitively, leaning on the doorframe.
"I think maybe, hearts get broken when they don't have enough love. And so they put in a new one and they said it saved me. But you and daddy gave me so much love, and my own bedroom full of my own clothes and toys, and I never had that before. And now I think the thing that really saved me was that I got a new family."
I smile and sit on the bed, lifting her out of her chair and onto my lap.
"Maybe you're right. Sometimes medicine isn't enough. Sometimes it takes a miracle for someone to get better. And my miracle was you." I say, giving her a kiss on the nose. "This last year has been such an adventure for all of us, and it started the day we met you. And I wish we never had to go our separate ways when you were little, but some things are too grown up for you to understand right now. And some things you should never have to. And some things just don't matter anymore. Right now, the only thing that matters is that every day, I get to see your beautiful smile and know you're mine." I say, holding her tighter.
"One thing you can understand Sadie," I say, "is that you saved me, too. And now that I've got you in my arms, I'm never letting go."
We're quiet for a moment, her head on my chest, until Alex walks in a minute later carrying the baby.
"Hey, love. Come sit." I say, motioning for him to join us. "And what's going on with this little one, huh?" I say in a baby voice.
"Little miss Emerson didn't want to sit in her playpen and miss out on all the fun." He chuckles.
I look at my husband and my two beautiful girls in awe- how did I get so lucky?
I smile and take a long deep breath.
"She won't miss out on a thing." I say, smiling. "We're just getting started."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* THE END *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I hope you guys enjoyed reading my Jolex fanfic, Always Been You. I had so much fun writing it, and reading your comments and knowing you enjoyed reading it just as much is so special to me. I've already got a few ideas for my next fanfic, so stay tuned for more on that! You can follow me and turn on notifications to get updated when I write or post an update, or follow me on instagram (@Greys.4dayz) where I post updates as well. Love you all, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the story!
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