Laura listens to Liz and Steve talking as she breastfeeds. She’s surprised by how much she enjoys the activity. The milk is sweet and creamy, and the suckling soothes her much like her pacifier. She’s thoroughly relaxed until she hears what Liz and Steve plan to do with her.
“We have been wanting another child,” Steve says quietly, watching Laura breastfeed. “And we’ve been looking into adoption, since you had that rough pregnancy and don’t want to go through it again.” Liz nods.
“Yeah. It seems like fate, almost. That a beautiful baby girl would be left in our home, waiting for us to find her. She clearly doesn’t have a family that can take care of her, since she was on the floor, starving, in a dirty diaper.” Steve nods as well.
“So we agree, then. We’ll adopt this little girl,” he says. Laura breaks off the nipple, startled. Liz looks down at her.
“Are you done?” Liz guides Laura to her breast again. Laura latches on. “Okay. That was a bit weird.” Liz looks up at Steve. “Yes. We’re going to adopt her. Do you think your lawyer friend could help us out?”
“Clark? Absolutely. He’s the best lawyer around. And I can already tell we have a pretty firm case to adopt her. We’ve got a kid already, so we know how to do it, and like you said, she obviously doesn’t have anyone related to her that should have custody. I’ll go call Clark right now to get things set up.” Steve leaves the room.
Laura wants to stop drinking again, merely because of the upsetting thing she overheard. But her instincts won’t allow her to let go until her stomach is filled. Liz ends up having to move Laura to her other breast before she is full. Once she’s done, Liz lifts Laura and gently burps her.
“You were hungry, huh?” Liz says softly. She shakes her head. “You poor, poor thing. Now that your tummy’s full and your diapy’s clean, let’s get you into some clothes, okay?” Liz brings Laura back to the changing table and puts her into a footed onesie patterned with butterflies. Laura tries in vain again to communicate with Liz. Liz merely chuckles at her babble. “You’re quite the talker!”
Now in the soft, warm onesie, Laura is carried into another room by Liz. It looks to be Liz and Steve’s room. Steve is pacing back and forth, talking on a phone. Liz waits for Steve to finish the call.
“Well?” she asks when Steve puts his phone in his pocket. Steve beams at her.
“We’ve been granted temporary custody of her! They’ve fast tracked the adoption process, because of the state we found her in and her age. We have to wait to adopt until we get inspected and go through the formal court hearing, but Clark thinks we’re a shoo-in.” Steve walks over and tickles Laura’s stomach. “We’re going to be your mommy and daddy soon!”
“She’s so cute and sweet,” Liz says softly. She looks at Steve. “What should we call her?”
“How about Rose?” Steve suggests. “We noticed when we came home that the rosebush was beginning to bloom.”
“Oh, that’s so wonderful!” Liz gushes. Laura’s heart plummets. Liz and Steve are planning to adopt her and change her name. But she’s one year old. She can’t do anything. She shifts in Liz’s arms. “Aw, I think she likes it, too!” Liz kisses Laura’s forehead. “Welcome to the family, Rose.”