Page 128 of Rescuing Mary

“It won’t be easy, but then again, what the two of you have gone through in the last six years hasn’t been easy either. This little girl needs you, Troy. Needs you and Casey.”

“When do I have to give you an answer?” Beatle asked, not taking his eyes from Casey.

“Sooner rather than later would be better, but I know you need to talk it over with your wife. Tomorrow morning would be best, as I can make arrangements for you to meet with child services and sign the paperwork, then you can take the baby home as soon as tomorrow afternoon, if everything checks out.”

“Tomorrow?” Beatle choked out, wanting to make sure he’d heard the doctor right.

“Tomorrow,” Doctor Harris confirmed.

“I…shit…” Beatle stammered.

“Talk to Casey. I’ll wait for your call in the morning.”

“Right.”

“Troy?”

“Yeah, Doc?”

“You deserve this. I know it’s scary, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.”

“Ten-four. I’ll call tomorrow.”

“You do that. Bye.”

Beatle clicked off the phone and stared at his wife. She still had tracks on her face from her tears, and she furrowed her brows in concern.

“What did the doctor want?”

Beatle ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath—then told her everything he’d just heard from the doctor.

For several moments, they stared at each other in shock.

“Tomorrow?” Casey whispered. “We can take her home tomorrow?”

“That’s what the doc said. What do you think?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a biological child. But I think we both knew before we even started on this last round that the possibility of it failing was high. I want to give you everything your heart desires, and I hate that I couldn’t. But…I think this is a sign from God. What’re the odds that this girl gave birth today of all days? And that her doctor was friends with ours? I think we should do it.”

“Me too,” Casey whispered.

Beatle kissed her, then pulled back and asked, “Did we just become parents?”

Casey chuckled. “Well…foster parents for now, but…yes, I think we did.” Then the smile fell from her face and her eyes got huge. “Oh my God. We don’t have anything. The house is a mess and we don’t even have a room to put her in. We need clothes. And diapers. And formula. Oh, shit…we need to go shopping!”

Beatle grabbed her right before she leaped up from the couch. “Calm down, Case.”

“I can’t!” she screeched. “We’re gonna be parents!”

He simply held her and arched his brows.

“Oh my God, Troy. We’re gonna be parents,” Casey whispered, then she burst into tears once again.

As he pulled his wife back into his arms, Beatle beamed. It was so strange how the world worked, but he knew they were meant to be this little girl’s parents. He already loved her. It was crazy. Insane. But true.

After Casey had gotten herself under control, he said, “Come on, let’s go call your brother. Then our parents. They need to know they’re going to be grandparents.”