sweet child of mine [grayson]

[lorene]

If anyone could see Lorene at this very moment they'd probably compare her to a child who was overly excited for a trip to their favorite amusement park. She was driving herself to the orphanage to pick up Grayson, a little boy whom she had adopted. Lorene had always wanted kids; it had broken her heart to find out she'd never be able to actually give birth, but that tragedy had opened the door to adoption, and getting Grayson a loving home.

She would probably end up babying him a bit more than she should. Lorene planned on making him the happiest little boy on Earth. She hadn't gotten the full story on how he was orphaned, but she knew it had traumatized him and he was just now returning to being himself again. Kids have always been a soft spot for her, she adored them. Her new son would probably be able to bend her in any way his heart so desired because she was a pushover even to a six year old.

Once she arrived, Lorene had twisted one strand of hair so much it was a little ringlet now. Her hair twirling was a nervous habit she did when she was anxious about something. Lorene couldn't wait to take him home with her; she had already spent days getting his room ready and child proofing her home. She had even asked Jared for a couple of days off so she could get acquainted with Grayson. She walked inside the building and after a few minutes of waiting, met with one of the ladies there. She had her sign a form or two, wait a few more minutes, and then she led her to go see Grayson to take him home with her.

The little boy had captivated her from the moment she first met him. Those blue eyes of his just made her melt. Lorene was led over to him in some sort of playroom; she smiled gently down at the rather tall six year old.

"Hi Grayson," she said warmly, not knowing what else to say, really. She was too excited.

[grayson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color:#666666; width:450px; padding:0px; border: 12px solid #1c1c1c;] fate fell short this time YOUR SMILE FADES IN THE SUMMER. PLACE YOUR HAND IN MINE, I'LL LEAVE WHEN I WANNA. - - - - - - - - - - - TAGGED: Lorene WORDS: 569 STATUS: complete Had anyone told Grayson that he'd get adopted instead of the other boys his age, he'd have laughed at them. Truth was, and he knew it, Grayson didn't have the appeal all the other boys did. He didn't play with all the other kids, he didn't giggle and laugh and sway the parents with his charm. He didn't speak or dance or show people he could write and write. He wasn't special -- not to these people, but when the Head Master came into his room and told him to gather what little belongings he had, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of joy. It'd been three weeks since the woman had come to see him, and he figured she didn't like him, just like the others that had come to see him. He figured he'd realized he wasn't special too, and had taken home one of the other boys; but, in that instance, Grayson knew he was gonna have a home -- even if just for a few days until she realized she made a mistake and took him back. Grayson clutched his Night Fury plush to his chest with wide eyes as he followed the Head Master down to the play room. He sat silently in a chair, stroking his toy's wings, until the woman came to the room too. He stared up at her with his wide, silver eyes, clutching the toy to his chest once more. "Hi Grayson," she smiled down at him. He gulped slightly. "H...hello ma'am... he chewed on his lip, foot kicking back and forth slowly. NOTES: Grayson's Outfit (click)

this lovely template was made by Arro from Caution 2.0.

[lorene]

Lorene thought about kneeling down onto his level, problem was, if she knelt down she'd be shorter than him. He was a tall six year old, and she was a short woman so that would defeat the purpose of being on eye level with Grayson. She thought he was adorable in his superhero outfit and with his Toothless doll clutched to his chest. Lorene loved animated movies, so she figured her selection of DVD's and VHS's back home would intrigue the boy.

He looked somewhat unnerved as he stood there, looking up at her with those big, silver eyes he had. Lorene had expected him, or any child really, who was being adopted, to react this way; but it still made her want to reassure him over and over that she wasn't going anywhere and he was going to be loved. She would say that, but it'd probably make her sound like one of those cliche parents people see in movies who say those things to a child who's parents had been killed. She knew she'd never "be" his true mother, but she was going to do her best to make him feel like he had a home and somewhere to go and be safe and happy. Every child deserved at least that.

"Are you ready to go, Grayson?" she asked gently, seeing very few belongings to begin with. "We'll have lot's of fun together, promise," she said, trying to sound encouraging.

She thanked the woman whom she had worked with to get Grayson and offered him her hand to lead him to her car. Lorene didn't know if he'd take it, but it was worth a shot.

[grayson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color:#666666; width:450px; padding:0px; border: 12px solid #1c1c1c;] forever and ever, is a very long time AND BOTH OF US WILL BE, FOREVER YOU AND ME- - - - - - - - - - - TAGGED: Lorene WORDS: 563 STATUS: complete The first time he'd met her, Grayson hadn't known what to think. She was nice, and really pretty too -- she reminded him of his mother. Looking up at her now, he couldn't help but hope that she'd want to keep him longer than the other's had. He offered her a tentative smile as she spoke, "are you ready to go, Grayson? We'll have lot's of fun together, promise." He couldn't tell if she was trying to reassure himself, or her -- but either way, it was nice. None of the others had ever bothered to say they'd have fun, or seem so enthusiastic -- they just took his hand and dragged him out. As the woman offered her hand to him, he just blinked at it. Why was she offering and not jerking him out of the room like the others? Why was she being nice. Chewing meekly on his lower lip, silver eyes trailing back up to her face, Grayson reached his own hand out shyly and took her offered one. "O..Okay.. he whispered softly, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough that they'd have to strain just a bit. His hand felt small in hers -- which he guessed was to be expected. She was after all bigger than him, but just barely. He knew he was taller than most kids his age, and a lot of the adopters whom came to see him took him to be older than he really was -- it turned them off when they realized he was actually younger. NOTES: Grayson's Outfit (click)

this lovely template was made by Arro from Caution 2.0.

[lorene]

Lorene smiled a little wider when Christopher took her much larger hand. She had half expected him to shy away and not take it, but he had and she felt so warmed and happy. She knew this was probably the best choice she had made in her whole life. Lorene's hand was much bigger than Christopher's. Even though she had the tiniest frame you could imagine, her hands had always been large. Long, thin fingers were to blame. At least they didn't look old...for now.

She walked him outside to her car, careful not to pull him along even though she wanted to walk faster since she was so excited. Lorene had always been bad at containing her joy for things. She was still smiling like an idiot as she opened the door for her new son and put his belongings inside. Her son; Lorene loved the sound of that thought.

"Christopher, would you like something to eat?" She offered as she waited for him to climb into the car. Lorene was still surprised at his height, it made her feel even shorter knowing that in two years her kid would be taller than her at a fraction of her age. Time to invest in high heeled shoes, she supposed.

She leaned against the door, waiting for his response. He was such a soft spoken, reserved little boy. Lorene was really drawn to him because of that, for some reason. He just seemed like he, especially over all the other kids, needed someone to love him. Lorene was just the woman to do so.

[grayson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color:#666666; width:450px; padding:0px; border: 12px solid #1c1c1c;] forever and ever, is a very long time AND BOTH OF US WILL BE, FOREVER YOU AND ME- - - - - - - - - - - TAGGED: Lorene WORDS: 757 STATUS: complete Christopher watched her with wary eyes, not sure what her true intentions were and not sure if he should trust her at all, but he was gonna have a warm, cozy bed and a nice hot meal for once -- even if it wasn't going to last long. Maybe that's what pushed him to take the woman's hand, he didn't really know -- and a part of him didn't even care. He didn't even really know why he was contemplating everything, and again he didn't quite care. He was a curious child, always questioning everything, and he could never sit still. Doctors thought he might have ADHD, and perhaps he did -- after all, his dad had had it, and so did his mom. Was ADHD hereditary? He'd have to ask someone, eventually. He followed after Lorene, hand still in hers eyes following her every move. What was she planning? Why didn't she decide to take another one of the boys? He wasn't special -- he wasn't special at all, in fact he was so un-special, he never got picked to be on the kick ball teams or to play tag, or anything like that! He was usually left to his own vices, like running around like there was someone chasing after him, or bouncing over walls and over the playroom/ground equipment. That's what he had the most fun with; but, the ladies in charge always made him sing in front of everybody. He hated singing in front of them, especially when he was being forced to. He didn't much like being forced into anything actually, but he was just a kid, they said -- they told him he didn't have a choice, cause he was just a baby. He wasn't a baby though, he was a big kid! "Christopher, would you like something to eat?" he looked up at her as she held open the door for him. Was it some kind of joke? Was she gonna get him something to eat, then take it away from him and throw it out the window, or in the trash? Or maybe she'd just eat it on her own? He didn't know, and he was afraid of what his answer might cause. Clambering into the vehicle, he struggled to buckle the seat-belt right.After a moment of fighting with it, he finally managed to get it to click in. Turning his attention back to her, Christopher began chewing restlessly on his lip, trying to determine how to answer her -- trying to decifer if there was a hidden meaning behind her words. "O..Okay" he mumbled at last, turning his eyes to his legs and kicking them back and forth. NOTES: Grayson's Outfit (click)

this lovely template was made by Arro from Caution 2.0.

[lorene]

Lorene had felt him watching her, analyzing her every move it seemed. She never knew a six year old could be so alert and pay attention in such a silent manner. She had always expected a child of his age to be crazy and bonkers at all times of the day, and then leading into the night when they'd beg and plead to stay up only to end up crashing on the couch ten minutes after their tangent. Maybe Christopher was like that, maybe he wasn't. She had only known him for a few weeks, but still didn't really know much about him. Again, he was reserved, but it made her smile. Lorene already loved this kid like he was her own flesh and blood. With those adorable silver eyes of his, her heart broke at the thought of anyone treating him poorly or him getting hurt.

All she got in reply was another mumbled 'okay'. Lorene cocked her head a little and offered, "Well...what do you like to eat? We could go somewhere nice; you know, to celebrate your first day coming home."

She paused another second before giving him time to think as she closed his door and got into the drivers seat and started the car. Lorene turned to face him again, a gentle look in her eye. There wasn't ever really anything other than kindness in her expression. A lot of people had told her she had a kind face, and it was true.

"Then maybe after we can pick up a movie or something to watch when we get you all settled in," she offered, raising her eye brows in an encouraging manner.

[grayson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color:#666666; width:450px; padding:0px; border: 12px solid #1c1c1c;] forever and ever, is a very long time AND BOTH OF US WILL BE, FOREVER YOU AND ME- - - - - - - - - - - TAGGED: Lorene WORDS: 648 STATUS: complete Chris wanted to tell her no. He wanted to scream and kick and thrash and curse and demand to know why she was being nice. She wasn't suppose to be nice. She was suppose to treat him like the others had -- she was suppose to snap at him and tell him to shut his mouth. She was suppose to smack him, and she was suppose to tell him he was worthless. She was suppose to yank the shirt off his back, look at his scar, and make him recount every little detail -- that's what she was suppose to do. So why wasn't she? Why couldn't she just do it, and make him remember why no one wanted to adopt him in the first place. He listened to her speak, processing each word carefully and filing her tone and inflection away in the back of his mind, to keep so he could tell when she was normal and when she was hateful. As the door shut and she moved to the other side, Christopher slammed his head back against the head rest and grumbled softly under his breath. Nothing was going the way it was suppose to go! Why! Why was she messing everything up? As Lorene climbed into teh car, he lifted his head back up and turned his eyes down. "Anywhere's o.. okay." he murmered once again, his burrowing under his legs and lip being sucked back into his mouth to be chewed on. At the offer of a movie, Christopher lifted his gaze to her face. Did she really mean it? Could he watch a movie? He probably wouldn't be able to choose, but it'd been a while since he got to see one. The other kids often bullied him out of the room, and the lady workers never bothered to help him. Biting his lip just a little to hard, he winced but tried to cover it up with a swift nod. "Can.. can we watch Batman?" he asked softly, looking up at her with wide, hopeful eyes. "texters" NOTES: Grayson's Outfit (click)

this lovely template was made by Arro from Caution 2.0.

[lorene]

Lorene nodded, dropping the subject of trying to get him to tell her where he wanted to eat. She didn't want to push it and then annoy him too much, there'd be plenty of times in the future where she'd probably get on his nerves when she babied him and whatnot. Might as well spare him once.

She pulled into the street, looking both ways before switching lanes to make a turn at the next light. Lorene figured she'd need to pick something pretty generic, given that she had no clue what his tastes were. She'd hate to pick something he didn't want; so far, he'd probably just force himself to eat it rather than tell her he didn't want it.

Lorene grinned and nodded, looking at him through her mirror, "Of course we can! Is Batman your favorite?"

She figured maybe this was something she could get him talking on. Superheros. Lorene smiled a little to herself, that was such a cute thing for children to like, she thought. Personally, she liked Iron Man but for different reasons that probably didn't even cross the minds of young children who liked him in Avengers.

Lorene took a left and turned into the lot of a nice Italian food place. It wasn't a fancy place, but it had some of the best food she had ever eaten. And it worked out fine because she could order gluten free stuff there since she couldn't have wheat in her food. She went around and opened the door for Christopher after she parked.

[grayson]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color:#666666; width:450px; padding:0px; border: 12px solid #1c1c1c;] forever and ever, is a very long time AND BOTH OF US WILL BE, FOREVER YOU AND ME- - - - - - - - - - - TAGGED: Lorene WORDS: 399 STATUS: complete Grayson crinkled his nose up at the thought of Batman being his favorite. Batman? Was the lady crazy -- oh wait, of course she was. "Batman? Nu-uh! I like Green Arrow the best!" he proclaimed boldly. He poked his head up just enough to see out the window, looking at the restaurant. "What's this?" he questioned, frowning. He'd never seen a place that looked like the restaurant, in fact it was the first restraurant he'd seen since his parents died. His head snapped back to Lorene as he flopped back down in his seat. "texters" NOTES: Grayson's Outfit (click)

this lovely template was made by Arro from Caution 2.0.

[lorene]

Lorene chuckled softly as he wasted no time in correcting her of his favorite hero. She parked, shut the car off and turned to face Christopher in the back seat.

"Ohh, alright. Green Arrow is pretty neat, huh?" Lorene asked, smiling as she got her purse and things together. "Why is he your favorite?"

She opened her door and replied to his question before getting out and walking around. Lorene frowned a little, wondering how long it had been since he had been anywhere other than that orphanage. She explained. "It's a restaurant, Christopher. They sell Italian food, like pizza and pasta, and things like that."

She went around and met Christopher as she opened his door. Lorene was glad to be giving him this "treat" of eating out. She didn't think it should be considered a treat, she ate out all the time. He definitely would think he was getting spoiled once life with Lori began. She had already situated his room and furniture and everything for him back home. He even had a little TV in his room and a small selection of movies she had that were age appropriate for him.

They went inside and she found a table after the hostess said to seat themselves. It was a nice little place; dimly lit, but still bright enough to comfortably see around. She just hoped he liked this kind of food.

"Do you want a kids menu or a grown up one?" Lorene asked him, not sure how much he ate. Christopher was a big six year old so she only assumed he was a good eater.