Life Be Heard: Chapter 2
For: nannerz2cool, H is for Hold - Adam.
Summary: Sequel to Love Speaks Through… Four years later, Kris, Adam and Allison return to Costa Rica, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same. Another 50K fic, coming your way! Look out!
Adam held Kaleb in his lap as Katy did her best to deal with a tired and rebelious Jesse, and Kris endured a 5:00 AM pat-down from airport security.
"What's that big thing?" Kaleb asked, studying what looked like a mirror at the end of a long stick that some airport personnel were using to search the bottom of a young woman's wheelchair.
"I don't know... What do you think it is? A mirror?" Adam asked, bouncing Kaleb a little.
"Maybe a magic one..." Kaleb offered, yawning. "Can we eat yet?"
"No! I'm not taking my shoes off! I don't care what you say!" Jesse yelled. Adam watched as Katy knelt in front of him and spoke to him calmly - an admirable feat given the time of day and his rudeness.
"Jesse. You have to. Everybody has to, honey. It's the rules of the airport. Everybody takes their shoes off and puts them in that little box and then gets them back. Kaleb did it, and Adam did it, and Daddy did it. I'll do it, too. We'll put our shoes in the same box, okay?"
"Jesse! Not be naughty, 'kay?!" Kaleb called. "Else, you know what? Naughty boys can't go inside of Costa Rica for a mission!"
Adam raised his eyebrows at the glare Jesse sent Kaleb's way.
"Jesse! Not look in my eyes that way!" Kaleb scolded in a funny growl.
"Jess, we have to hurry. These people are waiting," Katy urged, taking her own shoes off. "Come on now, and put yours in the box with mine so the cool machine can scan them, okay?"
"Daddy, Jesse not bein' good! An' I am," Kaleb passed along importantly as Adam shushed him.
"Kaleb, who are you supposed to worry about?" Kris asked casually.
"Me," Kaleb sighed.
"Is Jesse you?" Kris pressed.
"No, sir," Kaleb answered softly.
"Okay then. Here, Adam. I can take him if you want," Kris offered, though a bag was slung over his shoulder.
"I can walk if you want," Kaleb offered sweetly.
Jesse and Katy finally joined them. Jesse's face was impassive, and he completely ignored Katy's attempts to give him back his shoes.
"I know you can, buddy, but the thing is. We gotta move really fast to get on the plane in time. So, do you want me or Mama to carry you?" Kris asked.
"Mama!" Kaleb cheered.
"Kris, I think it's breakfast time," Katy passed along, sending a knowing look toward Jesse. He could be tired. He could be acting like a moody preteen. But chances were, he was nervous. Chances were, he was hungry. And still, even after a year with them, Jesse didn't do hungry well.
"Katy, we can't take food on now. He's gotta wait 'til we board," Kris said apologetic. "Come on, Jesse. Hop on my back," Kris urged, scooping Jesse up behind him, and handing the carry on to Adam.
--
The flight was quick, because Adam wisely brought his I-Pod and used it, listening to his Chill playlist to block out the sounds of Jesse and Kaleb having meltdowns at different times. Jesse didn't want that seat. Kaleb wanted the chocolate granola bar, but there was only one.
Times like this, Adam wondered if he was going to be cut out for this parenting thing. Times like this, Adam wondered what he was doing going back to a place full of children, when he could barely tolerate two being in bad moods.
But Adam knew why. He was going because he cared. Because he had to. Because it was right. Because he needed to give back, without doing it for the cameras.
When the boys slept, Adam did, too, relieved to still have four hours to rest, before the craziness began.
--
Allison was getting to be an old pro at this tia stuff. Everything was crazy, yeah, but she liked it that way. She liked it even more when she imagined Adam and Kris and the family coming all the way out there, and helping, too. It would be just like old times, almost, except of course, no Joan or Tyler. No fire. No anything bad to take away from the good that was going on.
Sure, there were still hard things. She had to get used to mostly new kids, for one thing. Nico was still there. He was 9 years old now, like Jesse, and making progress, but it didn't seem like he remembered her. Emilio was there, and happy as ever, but he was really scarred, and needed surgery he couldn't get because of the general poverty and situation here. And so many of these kids seemed so much quicker to get mad than the others, who had just seemed sweet. Or maybe it was that Allison was around them longer and got to see their true colors.
Still, it was weird not seeing Belen or Savanna or any of the other originals, as she called them in her mind. But Allison had to have faith that they were in good homes. Otherwise, she would go nuts, and there was too much to do. She did more cooking and cleaning here than she ever did at home. Learned how to give a kid a bath. Learned how to do the kids hair so they didn't cry. She had done a lot in three weeks, and she was proud of herself.
She even got used to seeing the old guest house where the fire had been. At first, it had made her heart race, even though it was rebuilt and finished now. She didn't go down there much, but one time she had, just to make sure her favorite part of it was still there. The porch, she, Kris and Adam had called it. The little concrete slab out back that overlooked the coffee fields and offered a view of the mountains in the distance. And, like a gift, this one thing was still there.
This one thing remained unchanged.
Now, it was normal to see the guest house. Normal to count the children, without panicking. Normal to be a mother to the motherless. Kris and Adam had the chance to do it for real, and this way, Allison did, too. She knew she wasn't ready to have actual kids of her own, and seeing all the need out here made her almost not want to have any ever. There were so many kids already who needed homes, and love.
The minute she saw the buses pull up, Allison's heart leaped. She saw the kids all rush to swarm it like they always did, and Allison wished she could join them. But dinner had to be prepared. It wasn't going to make itself. So, she waited. She did what needed to be done, struck by her own discipline. She was growing up. Allison smiled to herself, preparing enchilada fixings. Four years ago, she had thought she was such an adult, but now, it was different. Now she knew she would just keep maturing and she was okay with that.
She could be patient.
They would be reunited soon enough.
--
Adam stepped off the bus and took a deep breath. It smelled the same. Not like smoke and fire. Not of hopelessness or loss. But of heavy air, and rich soil. It smelled like home. He scanned the faces of the children, and his heart was warmed by the way they welcomed the bus load like old friends.
They talked to Jesse like he was their peer. Like they expected him to understand Spanish, though he only understood and spoke a few phrases. They embraced Kaleb and his walker, because Nico, Allison's little friend from last time, also had one.
"Hola! Como estas?" Kaleb asked, easily, and he was met with a chorus of "Bien! Y tu?"
"Bien. Gracias," Kaleb responded, like a pro.
Adam watched, stunned at how seamlessly Jesse and Kaleb fit in. Kaleb in his khaki shorts, jungle shirt and wide-brimmed hat, and Jesse with his cornrows, Razorbacks jersey and shorts. His shoes, finally, were on his feet.
Like he had been conjured, Jesse appeared at Adam's side. "I thought they wouldn't give my shoes back. You know, at the airport?"
Adam smiled, remembering how he stood behind Jesse and Kris in line as Jesse handed over his Passport for a stamp. At the bottom, Jesse had signed his first name in cursive, big enough to fill the whole line. He had to sqeeze in Allen, almost as an afterthought.
"Looks like they did, though," Adam observed.
"Yeah. I just wasn't thinking straight," Jesse offered. "So, you like it here?"
"I do," Adam nodded. "Coming here made me realize I wanted to be a daddy myself."
"It did that for my parents, too," Jesse said, nodding.
"Mi familia esta aqui! My family! Oh, my God you guys! I missed you so much! Jesse and Kaleb, you guys are here!"
Adam's head snapped up. He had forgotten they had been walking. But before he knew what was happening, Allison plowed into him with such a fierce embrace it nearly knocked him off his feet. She held on tightly as she could and kissed him on the cheek.
"You really are Costa Rican now," he laughed.
"Central America's my home, dude!" she exclaimed, moving on to embrace Kris and welcome Katy and the boys.
"Alli, can you play with us?" Kaleb asked.
"Kaleb, Allison's got to work, remember?" Kris reminded gently.
"Oh yeah..." Kaleb said, sounding disappointed. "I missed her, though."
"Well, I missed all you guys so much, too! And I promise we'll find some time to play together, okay? You guys are my buddies," she said, and pulled Jesse aside, talking to him in a low voice.
"Hey, if it gets weird or hard or whatever being around kids who came from what you came from...Well, just let me know. I get it. I can get someone to take over, and we can figure stuff out together."
"I was kind of thinking about that. I mean, I want to be here, but it already kind of strange, because...these kids...they could be me. I could be them. Wait. How did you know to talk to me? I didn't tell my parents about it..."
"I kind of used to be them, too, when I was young. It was tough for me the first time I came. I wished I had someone to talk to. So, I'm telling you, you have me."
Jesse said nothing, only nodded.
They walked up to the house, arms around one another, and Kaleb keeping up fine. The groups of children were still excited and running around.
"I can't believe we're here!" Katy breathed, "It's beautiful!"
"Do you know how many times I've wanted to call you, girl?" Adam asked, nudging Allison with his body.
"Is that the guest house?" Kris asked, squinting in the distance.
"Yeah. Looks good now. You should check it out when you're ready," she encouraged.
"Hey, I want you to meet someone..." Allison said, lowering her voice and taking Adam aside. She waited until Kris, Katy and the boys had made some headway and then scooped up a child who was running by, giggling.
Adam felt his breath catch. He wasn’t ready for this. For these dark eyes that stared into his soul so long ago. He wasn’t ready to be face to face with the child who faced the same terror in the fire years ago as Adam had. It had been hard enough for Adam to cope with as a man, he couldn’t imagine how a baby could endure it. He was scarred, just as Tyler had shared in a subsequent phone call six months later. No hair grew on one side of his head. His ear and part of his face were raised and discolored, and the same with his arms. Adam suspected under the boy’s tee shirt, he would see more of the same.
"Emilio. Se llama Adam. Le guardó del fuego cuando fue pequeño," Allison introduced softly.
Adam, as usual, missed everything but his own name. She could have been speaking Swahili for all he understood. But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop staring. Intellectually, he had known that Emilio would grow up, but he hadn’t expected to see a little boy - five-and-a-half - Adam calculated quickly. He was still busy taking it in when Emilio lunged for him. Adam would have flinched except that his instinct to catch was stronger.
Emilio wrapped his arms around Adam’s neck, his legs around Adam’s waist , and held on.
“A veces sueño contigo.“ Emilio confided in a quiet voice, right in Adam‘s ear.
“Sometimes I dream of you,” Allison whispered.
Summary: Sequel to Love Speaks Through… Four years later, Kris, Adam and Allison return to Costa Rica, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same. Another 50K fic, coming your way! Look out!
Adam held Kaleb in his lap as Katy did her best to deal with a tired and rebelious Jesse, and Kris endured a 5:00 AM pat-down from airport security.
"What's that big thing?" Kaleb asked, studying what looked like a mirror at the end of a long stick that some airport personnel were using to search the bottom of a young woman's wheelchair.
"I don't know... What do you think it is? A mirror?" Adam asked, bouncing Kaleb a little.
"Maybe a magic one..." Kaleb offered, yawning. "Can we eat yet?"
"No! I'm not taking my shoes off! I don't care what you say!" Jesse yelled. Adam watched as Katy knelt in front of him and spoke to him calmly - an admirable feat given the time of day and his rudeness.
"Jesse. You have to. Everybody has to, honey. It's the rules of the airport. Everybody takes their shoes off and puts them in that little box and then gets them back. Kaleb did it, and Adam did it, and Daddy did it. I'll do it, too. We'll put our shoes in the same box, okay?"
"Jesse! Not be naughty, 'kay?!" Kaleb called. "Else, you know what? Naughty boys can't go inside of Costa Rica for a mission!"
Adam raised his eyebrows at the glare Jesse sent Kaleb's way.
"Jesse! Not look in my eyes that way!" Kaleb scolded in a funny growl.
"Jess, we have to hurry. These people are waiting," Katy urged, taking her own shoes off. "Come on now, and put yours in the box with mine so the cool machine can scan them, okay?"
"Daddy, Jesse not bein' good! An' I am," Kaleb passed along importantly as Adam shushed him.
"Kaleb, who are you supposed to worry about?" Kris asked casually.
"Me," Kaleb sighed.
"Is Jesse you?" Kris pressed.
"No, sir," Kaleb answered softly.
"Okay then. Here, Adam. I can take him if you want," Kris offered, though a bag was slung over his shoulder.
"I can walk if you want," Kaleb offered sweetly.
Jesse and Katy finally joined them. Jesse's face was impassive, and he completely ignored Katy's attempts to give him back his shoes.
"I know you can, buddy, but the thing is. We gotta move really fast to get on the plane in time. So, do you want me or Mama to carry you?" Kris asked.
"Mama!" Kaleb cheered.
"Kris, I think it's breakfast time," Katy passed along, sending a knowing look toward Jesse. He could be tired. He could be acting like a moody preteen. But chances were, he was nervous. Chances were, he was hungry. And still, even after a year with them, Jesse didn't do hungry well.
"Katy, we can't take food on now. He's gotta wait 'til we board," Kris said apologetic. "Come on, Jesse. Hop on my back," Kris urged, scooping Jesse up behind him, and handing the carry on to Adam.
--
The flight was quick, because Adam wisely brought his I-Pod and used it, listening to his Chill playlist to block out the sounds of Jesse and Kaleb having meltdowns at different times. Jesse didn't want that seat. Kaleb wanted the chocolate granola bar, but there was only one.
Times like this, Adam wondered if he was going to be cut out for this parenting thing. Times like this, Adam wondered what he was doing going back to a place full of children, when he could barely tolerate two being in bad moods.
But Adam knew why. He was going because he cared. Because he had to. Because it was right. Because he needed to give back, without doing it for the cameras.
When the boys slept, Adam did, too, relieved to still have four hours to rest, before the craziness began.
--
Allison was getting to be an old pro at this tia stuff. Everything was crazy, yeah, but she liked it that way. She liked it even more when she imagined Adam and Kris and the family coming all the way out there, and helping, too. It would be just like old times, almost, except of course, no Joan or Tyler. No fire. No anything bad to take away from the good that was going on.
Sure, there were still hard things. She had to get used to mostly new kids, for one thing. Nico was still there. He was 9 years old now, like Jesse, and making progress, but it didn't seem like he remembered her. Emilio was there, and happy as ever, but he was really scarred, and needed surgery he couldn't get because of the general poverty and situation here. And so many of these kids seemed so much quicker to get mad than the others, who had just seemed sweet. Or maybe it was that Allison was around them longer and got to see their true colors.
Still, it was weird not seeing Belen or Savanna or any of the other originals, as she called them in her mind. But Allison had to have faith that they were in good homes. Otherwise, she would go nuts, and there was too much to do. She did more cooking and cleaning here than she ever did at home. Learned how to give a kid a bath. Learned how to do the kids hair so they didn't cry. She had done a lot in three weeks, and she was proud of herself.
She even got used to seeing the old guest house where the fire had been. At first, it had made her heart race, even though it was rebuilt and finished now. She didn't go down there much, but one time she had, just to make sure her favorite part of it was still there. The porch, she, Kris and Adam had called it. The little concrete slab out back that overlooked the coffee fields and offered a view of the mountains in the distance. And, like a gift, this one thing was still there.
This one thing remained unchanged.
Now, it was normal to see the guest house. Normal to count the children, without panicking. Normal to be a mother to the motherless. Kris and Adam had the chance to do it for real, and this way, Allison did, too. She knew she wasn't ready to have actual kids of her own, and seeing all the need out here made her almost not want to have any ever. There were so many kids already who needed homes, and love.
The minute she saw the buses pull up, Allison's heart leaped. She saw the kids all rush to swarm it like they always did, and Allison wished she could join them. But dinner had to be prepared. It wasn't going to make itself. So, she waited. She did what needed to be done, struck by her own discipline. She was growing up. Allison smiled to herself, preparing enchilada fixings. Four years ago, she had thought she was such an adult, but now, it was different. Now she knew she would just keep maturing and she was okay with that.
She could be patient.
They would be reunited soon enough.
--
Adam stepped off the bus and took a deep breath. It smelled the same. Not like smoke and fire. Not of hopelessness or loss. But of heavy air, and rich soil. It smelled like home. He scanned the faces of the children, and his heart was warmed by the way they welcomed the bus load like old friends.
They talked to Jesse like he was their peer. Like they expected him to understand Spanish, though he only understood and spoke a few phrases. They embraced Kaleb and his walker, because Nico, Allison's little friend from last time, also had one.
"Hola! Como estas?" Kaleb asked, easily, and he was met with a chorus of "Bien! Y tu?"
"Bien. Gracias," Kaleb responded, like a pro.
Adam watched, stunned at how seamlessly Jesse and Kaleb fit in. Kaleb in his khaki shorts, jungle shirt and wide-brimmed hat, and Jesse with his cornrows, Razorbacks jersey and shorts. His shoes, finally, were on his feet.
Like he had been conjured, Jesse appeared at Adam's side. "I thought they wouldn't give my shoes back. You know, at the airport?"
Adam smiled, remembering how he stood behind Jesse and Kris in line as Jesse handed over his Passport for a stamp. At the bottom, Jesse had signed his first name in cursive, big enough to fill the whole line. He had to sqeeze in Allen, almost as an afterthought.
"Looks like they did, though," Adam observed.
"Yeah. I just wasn't thinking straight," Jesse offered. "So, you like it here?"
"I do," Adam nodded. "Coming here made me realize I wanted to be a daddy myself."
"It did that for my parents, too," Jesse said, nodding.
"Mi familia esta aqui! My family! Oh, my God you guys! I missed you so much! Jesse and Kaleb, you guys are here!"
Adam's head snapped up. He had forgotten they had been walking. But before he knew what was happening, Allison plowed into him with such a fierce embrace it nearly knocked him off his feet. She held on tightly as she could and kissed him on the cheek.
"You really are Costa Rican now," he laughed.
"Central America's my home, dude!" she exclaimed, moving on to embrace Kris and welcome Katy and the boys.
"Alli, can you play with us?" Kaleb asked.
"Kaleb, Allison's got to work, remember?" Kris reminded gently.
"Oh yeah..." Kaleb said, sounding disappointed. "I missed her, though."
"Well, I missed all you guys so much, too! And I promise we'll find some time to play together, okay? You guys are my buddies," she said, and pulled Jesse aside, talking to him in a low voice.
"Hey, if it gets weird or hard or whatever being around kids who came from what you came from...Well, just let me know. I get it. I can get someone to take over, and we can figure stuff out together."
"I was kind of thinking about that. I mean, I want to be here, but it already kind of strange, because...these kids...they could be me. I could be them. Wait. How did you know to talk to me? I didn't tell my parents about it..."
"I kind of used to be them, too, when I was young. It was tough for me the first time I came. I wished I had someone to talk to. So, I'm telling you, you have me."
Jesse said nothing, only nodded.
They walked up to the house, arms around one another, and Kaleb keeping up fine. The groups of children were still excited and running around.
"I can't believe we're here!" Katy breathed, "It's beautiful!"
"Do you know how many times I've wanted to call you, girl?" Adam asked, nudging Allison with his body.
"Is that the guest house?" Kris asked, squinting in the distance.
"Yeah. Looks good now. You should check it out when you're ready," she encouraged.
"Hey, I want you to meet someone..." Allison said, lowering her voice and taking Adam aside. She waited until Kris, Katy and the boys had made some headway and then scooped up a child who was running by, giggling.
Adam felt his breath catch. He wasn’t ready for this. For these dark eyes that stared into his soul so long ago. He wasn’t ready to be face to face with the child who faced the same terror in the fire years ago as Adam had. It had been hard enough for Adam to cope with as a man, he couldn’t imagine how a baby could endure it. He was scarred, just as Tyler had shared in a subsequent phone call six months later. No hair grew on one side of his head. His ear and part of his face were raised and discolored, and the same with his arms. Adam suspected under the boy’s tee shirt, he would see more of the same.
"Emilio. Se llama Adam. Le guardó del fuego cuando fue pequeño," Allison introduced softly.
Adam, as usual, missed everything but his own name. She could have been speaking Swahili for all he understood. But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop staring. Intellectually, he had known that Emilio would grow up, but he hadn’t expected to see a little boy - five-and-a-half - Adam calculated quickly. He was still busy taking it in when Emilio lunged for him. Adam would have flinched except that his instinct to catch was stronger.
Emilio wrapped his arms around Adam’s neck, his legs around Adam’s waist , and held on.
“A veces sueño contigo.“ Emilio confided in a quiet voice, right in Adam‘s ear.
“Sometimes I dream of you,” Allison whispered.