After they'd done the home visit with Chelsi, there had been a small amount of paperwork that involved giving her their references and then reading over the home study she'd completed and sent to them. There were classes that they were meant to be doing that hadn't started yet. Chelsi had promised those could be waived and fast tracked if there was
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There would be absolutely no misunderstanding just how serious the Davies were about adopting, about how much they wanted a child to call their own, and how much they were going to love whoever joined their family.
That didn't s top her from being a bundle of nerves every day, knowing that they had only just gotten over the first hurdle in this process.
She felt no differently coming into Chelsi's office now.
"We've talked extensively," Lavender assured her, crossing one leg over the other, "We were talking about an infant or toddler-"
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Roger looked over at Lavender, watching her for a moment. They had talked about this, both before and after the last meeting, but it was suddenly starting to feel more real, more concrete. "Sounds right."
"Boy or girl?"
"Either," Roger told her without pause. It wasn't exactly a secret that he sort of hoped for a girl, but the idea of having a little boy to raise was actually exciting in its own right. They would definitely be happy either way.
"Good, good." Chelsi nodded. "Now, just so you know." Her tone of voice said that this wasn't the part she liked. She was still pleasant enough, but she was giving them the real lay down of everything, which was appreciated. "Under four is harder. Over five is a little easier. If you wanted a school age, around eleven, I could have a child ready to come stay with you today. I just want you to know there could be a bit of wait. Everyone wants a baby."
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"We're willing to wait," Lavender said quickly, leaning forward in her seat as her hand went out for Roger's, as if she was looking for his support in the fast response.
"How long could it be? Months, years?"
She at least had to know for timeline purposes. There was already a nursery all set up, waiting for the newest Davies to join them.
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It was hard enough seeing other happy pregnant women and mothers with their children from day to day. She couldn't imagine having these kids coming in and out of her home, no idea how long they'd stay and knowing it would be just as difficult to say goodbye to each of them.
"I'm sorry I just don't think-" she started, voice quiet as she shook her head.
Lavender turned to Roger, almost apologetically but she was sure he knew what she meant. It would be difficult for them both.
"When there's a baby available, we'll be ready. I already furnished the nursery like you suggested and we baby proofed the house-"
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"Good, good," Chelsi nodded. "That's fine. You'll be ready when the time comes, right? That's what - "
"Ms. Chelsi! Ms. Chelsi!" A little ball of energy came bursting into the room, a harried looking woman trailing behind her.
"Yes, Dahlia?" Chelsi cut off to ask the little girl with dark hair. She sounded patient and amused, long-suffering even.
She climbed up onto a chair at the large table and dropped a pink backpack onto it. "I formally request no one over a thousand anymore. The house was a museum and not the fun kind with the stuff that goes - " She made an expansive gesture with her little arms.
Roger barely stifled a laugh. The attention made the little girl - Dahlia - make the gesture again, puffing her cheeks out and making a sound he was pretty sure was supposed to sound ( ... )
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She was this huge presence in the room and yet somehow still completely adorable. She made Lavender just melt.
When she left the room she finally turned to her husband and then back to Chelsi.
"Um- who was that? Is she-" Lavender started, looking for the right words. Suddenly she was so curious.
"Is she in the foster system?"
( ... )
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"She is," Chelsi nodded, flipping back to the inventory and shaking her head. "Dahlia Webb. She's five. We've had her since she was three. She just became adoptable and we sent her on a pre-placement visit. It didn't go all that well." She laughed a little and looked up at Lavender. "As you can tell, she's very picky. Which is good. Fewer placements disrupt when the kids are on board."
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The name rolled off her tongue, fitting there perfectly. Of course, she was named Dahlia. A flower.
Roger had to make the connection himself, she knew that he would. It was almost too perfect and Lavender found herself leaning forward in her seat.
"Do you think- well, she just seems like such a special little girl-"
She turned towards Roger, a brightness in her eyes, hoping he'd finish her question, praying he wanted to.
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She was completely smitten and he wasn't far behind her.
Roger nodded. "Do you think ... we could officially meet her? See if she likes us?"
Chelsi's eyebrows shot up. Very seriously, she settled her papers down. "She's outside your age range. We'd expect tutoring or pre-Hogwarts education starting in the fall. She's opinionated. There haven't been any real behavioral problems, but she's in placement and older and has been in placement so they might be there the way behaviors aren't with infants."
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"That's alright. We can try-" she said, looking more hopeful and just as nervous as she had that very first meeting with Chelsi that already felt like a lifetime away.
"And education. Yes, of course. She could start at Lily's school. There's another bedroom that's a little bit bigger-"
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"We'll let her help pick things. That way it feels more ... " Roger wasn't sure where that sentence was going, but that's what they'd done with Lily so she could feel more a part of everything.
"Real for her?" Chelsi nodded and smiled, but it was dimmed by a sigh. "Look, if it's a disaster, I want to know. But I also don't want to hear about it if she cries over things your daughter didn't. It sounds crass, but I get a lot of panics from people who simply can't deal. They try. They fail. They want me to fix all the problems on kids that don't actually need to be fixed. So you have to be sure that you want to try this before I introduce her."
When Roger opened his mouth, Chelsi stood and held up her hand. "I"m going to check on Dahlia. Let you two talk this over. I'll be back in a few minutes."
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She knew that not every child would be as easy as that, especially one with a past like Dahlia had, only five years old and no home or family of her own. But not every bump in the road was a disaster and she wanted to try to work through them.
"Roger, I know it might not be what we wanted but none of this really is. Maybe it's all falling into place-" she started, turning towards her husband once they were alone.
"I think we should at least try. We could be the right family for her."
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This could be another one of those.
Roger had to admit that it could also go terribly, terribly wrong. They were great with Lily, and he had no doubts that Lavender would be wonderful, but what if this five year old had more problems than they could handle?
"The only thing I'm worried about is if we can't do it? We're taking in this girl, then sending her away. And that's terrible." It would be terrible for Dahlia, for Lily, for them. Roger didn't want to say it that way, but they needed to consider it.
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She still thanked her lucky stars that she had bumped into him at the reunion, no matter who messy that entire night had been.
This could be one of the moments, a shot in the dark that she just had to take.
"We won't know until we try, right?" Lavender reasoned, taking his hand in her own as she shifted closer.
"What if we just meet her and see what happens? I have a feeling about her, Roger-"
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But Lavender was right. They wouldn't know until they tried. And there was still the chance that Dahlia wouldn't even like them, which seemed to be a sticking point - as it should be - with Chelsi.
"Okay." Roger nodded, meeting Lavender's eyes and not looking away. "Let's meet her."
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