| July 17th | Wednesday Afternoon |

~ Megan's POV ~

Today was the day we had been waiting for since meeting with Ava. We had been fully approved and vetted, and today was the day Ava would officially become our daughter. It felt surreal, but I remained excited and optimistic. After seeing her for the first time in months over a week ago, all the nerves had basically vanished. I just wanted her here now.

I walk over to Sam, who's in the kitchen, and wrap my arms around her waist. She relaxes into me and I kiss the back of her neck lovingly.

"You know, I keep expecting to wake up because these past few months have just been dream-like," I confess.

She turns to face me while leaning back on the counter. A teasing smirk plays on her lips as she tilts her head.

"Do you need me to pinch you?"

I laugh. "No..."

She reaches out and grabs my hips to pull me into her. My heart leaps at our lips making contact, and I fall into her in complete bliss. I'm still unsure if this is real life or not, but I enjoy it all regardless. After a few minutes, I pull away when I realize we're getting carried away.

"They should be here any minute," I remind.

"I know." Sam kisses my neck. "I just like getting you all worked up."

"Oh yeah?"

Our faces are close.

"Yeah," she whispers.

I feel the blood rush to my face, and I can no longer suppress my grin. After all this time, and everything we've been through, Sam still managed to get to me. I love it, and I hope it remains this way forever. I'm convinced it would in this very moment.

Then there's a light knocking on the door and my stomach clenches. Sam's grip on me tightens only slightly before she lets me go. I look at her and see the excitement and nervousness on her face. We both walk over to the door and she gives me a reassuring look before opening it.

There she stands next to Amy, with a few bags at her feet. Her eyes light up immediately when they lock with mine and my heart nearly bursts with emotion. Since meeting her, I haven't seen her this happy, and just that thought alone threatens to form tears. I hold out my hand for Ava to take.

"Hi Ava," I say as she takes my hand.

"Hi," she says excitedly.

I lead Ava into our home and Sam quickly retrieves the rest of her bags with Amy, who seems just as excited as the rest of us. Once they're inside, Amy takes a deep breath and goes over the technicalities of today. We receive all of Ava's important documents while she plays with Charlie as a distraction. Once everything is all said and done, Amy stands and looks at Ava with a hopeful expression.

"So, Ava," she starts. "Are you happy that this is gonna be your forever home?"

Ava hugs Charlie to her chest and gives a nod. I watch Sam smile to herself from the couch where she observes them, and I find myself full of love and admiration at the sight.

"Well, come and give me a hug," Amy suggests. "You know you're gonna miss me."

Ava stands and hugs Amy tightly, which is a sight I didn't think would make me emotional but does. Amy seems to be having a moment herself but doesn't let it overcome her. She gives me and Sam one last look before disappearing out our front door, and then it's just the three of us.

I watch Ava turn away from the front door and look at me, then at Sam. She seems to have something to say but hesitates to say it. We give her a moment to take in her new environment before breaking the silence. Just seeing the look on her small curious face makes me want to hug her and shower her in affection for hours, but I know that time isn't now. We were still strangers to her, after all. I may have been her teacher at one point, but she had to come to terms with the fact that were her primary caregivers now.

"How are you feeling, Ava?" Sam asks.

"I... I don't know," she stutters. "I'm happy but I'm gonna miss Lisa and Amy."

"Well, you'll see them again," I assure. "You won't see them as often as you used to, but you'll see them again one day."

She nods as she sits back on the floor and cuddles Charlie, who seems to love Ava more than me and Sam combined. Sam stands from the couch and joins me where I'm sitting.

"So, are you my moms now?" Ava wonders aloud. "Like Lisa was?"

"We can be your moms," I answer. "Or we can be your grown-ups, or your parents, or whatever you feel comfortable calling us."

"You can call me Miss Sam, or just Sam if you'd rather," Sam includes.

"Same with me," I continue. "You can call me Miss Megan or Megan..."

"Or momma Megan?" Ava wonders.

The innocence of the question brings tears to my eyes and I tell myself to keep it together. Crying would only worry Ava, who doesn't understand how much today means to me. She would just be confused as to why I was so emotional, and think it's a negative reaction, so I suck it up and nod with a smile.

"Or momma Megan," I assure.

A wide smile spreads on her face as she breaks eye contact with us and looks down at Charlie, whose head is resting on her lap now.

"Do I get to stay at Palm Vista?"

"Yep." I glance at Sam and see her smiling to herself. "And you get to ride to and from school with me every day, unless you want to sleep a little more in the mornings, then Sam can bring you to school."

"Do you wanna see your new room, Ava?" Sam asks while standing.

Ava just nods excitedly as she runs to Sam's side. I watch them from afar and remember how much effort Sam and I had put into her room. Of course, we didn't add too much character since we wanted Ava to have her way when it came to decorations and such, but we had gotten her things to enjoy. I hurry behind them and remain eager to see Ava's reaction.

"Oh wow," she says. "This bed is huge!"

"You like it?" I ask.

"I love it," she exclaims while simultaneously throwing her small body onto it.

Sam laughs to herself as I walk over to the bookshelf I had stocked with many new reads I had vetted over the past week of anticipation.

"And I got you some new books you can read this summer..."

She jumps up from the bed and rushes over to the bookshelf to examine the titles. It doesn't take her long to pick one and open it up, her eyes scanning the unread pages with excitement.

"And I got you..." Sam walks over to the other side of the room. "... A brand-new painting easel, paint brushes, paints, and real canvases."

I had never seen Ava look so excited as she inspects Sam's gift. Sam glances up at me with a loving smile on her lips as she watches me take it all in. I can tell she's not nervous or scared, but rather, she's happy and excited for Ava. I can't help but wonder if doing things like spoiling Ava, for example, feeds her own inner child that had been neglected of this kind of love. It was just a thought, of course, but judging by the look on her face, it was hard not to believe that there's any truth to it.

Then, Sam checks her watch.

"Well, I have to go to work soon," she says to Ava. "But... Megan is gonna take you shopping for a new bathing suit because we're gonna go to the beach tomorrow morning. Does that sound fun?"

"It sounds fantastic!" Ava shouts with a smile.

"Good." Sam brushes past me and notices the emotional look on my face. "It's okay to cry from happiness, Megan."

I nudge her. "I'm not gonna cry."

"I know," she says. "But it's okay if you do."

She leaves the room and I sit on Ava's bed, which brings her to join me. She has the new book in her hands, but lets it rest on her lap. There's a moment of silence, but the energy isn't tense, because she's happy. I can feel it.

"Is that my painting?" Ava says as she points to the wall.

I look up in confusion and see what she's talking about. It is, in fact, her painting that she had given to me for Sam months ago, but I hadn't noticed it had been hung up by Sam herself up until now.

"It is," I confirm. "Sam must've hung it up because she likes it so much."

I look at Ava who doesn't say anything. She just stares at the painting with a smile, like she can't quite believe this was real. I understood the feeling completely, because never would I have thought this was possible even just a few months ago. Then my eyes switch back to the painting and I can't help myself anymore.

The tears begin to fall silently down my cheeks and Ava notices immediately.

"Why are you crying?" she wonders.

"I'm just very happy, Ava," I answer. "These are happy tears."

"Oh." She exhales heavily. "Okay. That's good because I'm really happy, too."

"You are?"

"Mhhm." She nods quickly. "Do I get to stay here for a long time?"

"You get to stay here as long as you want."

"Until I'm much older?"

"Maybe even then some," I finish.

That's when it seems to hit her, and her own tears form. She leans into me and hugs me. I wrap my arms around her willingly and squeeze her to my body, silently telling her that she's safe and that we weren't going anywhere. I feel her tears wet my shirt as her face stays buried in my side while I try not to cry too much. Today was supposed to be a happy day, after all.

"Are your tears happy, too?" I ask.

"Yes ma'am," she mumbles into me.

"Good." I rub her back comfortingly. "That's good, Ava."

~

~Sam's POV~

It was weird to feel excited about things that only a few months ago I would've been highly anxious about. As I packed up a chest of water and food for the beach today, I couldn't help but reflect on how I had gotten here. It wasn't something I would've thought up for my future self, but it definitely felt good regardless.

Once I get everything in the car and walk back inside, I call out for Megan and Ava.

"Are we ready to leave?"

"Yes!" Ava emerges from her room with a big smile.

"Ava do you want to bring your book?" Megan asks.

"Um, yes ma'am."

They follow me to the door and we leave the house and climb into Megan's car. Ava is quiet on the ride there, but I watch her from the rearview mirror. She watches the cars pass in silence, emersed in her own thoughts. I suddenly wonder what she's thinking about.

Megan grabs my hand in the same moment and I look at her, realizing this feels so natural. Never would I had predicted this for myself.

We make it to the beach and Ava excitedly grabs the bag of beach toys we had packed for the day. I grab the chest and Megan grabs the towels and umbrella and we're off into the sand. The heat of it stings my feet, but it just makes me want to get situated even faster. We let Ava pick a spot near the water and begin to set up. While we do so, she begins playing in the sand.

"You're really quiet. What are you thinking?" Megan asks.

I give her smile. "Just taking it all in."

"Well, how are you feeling about it?"

I ponder the question while setting up the umbrella, and then take the other end of the huge towel and stretch out my side while Megan does hers. I contemplate how I feel but can't seem to think of anything other than just happy and maybe a little bit a relief. Maybe I was still in shock that Ava was now ours, or maybe it just feels so natural because it's how it's supposed to be. I wasn't sure.

"I just feel happy and..." I sigh. "I don't know, grateful?"

"Grateful?"

"Yeah."

The conversation seems to end there, but the smile on Megan's face tells me she feels the same. She's happy, like the day we got married, or the day I proposed to her. Judging by that alone, I knew we had done the right thing.

After I'm in nothing but my bathing suit and Ava is sprayed with sunscreen, I join Megan on our towel and watch Ava continue trying to build a sandcastle. The beach is busy, but not as busy as expected in the middle of the week. The sound of seagulls and crashing waves puts me into a serine state of mind as I lean back on my arms.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Megan says. "I still can't believe how fast our lives have changed."

"Are you happy?" I look at her. "With the change?"

She shakes her head with a smile. "I don't think I can be any happier or else my heart would just burst."

I lean over and give her a kiss, knowing exactly how she feels right now. There are no words for it, so there's no use in trying. All I wanted to do was enjoy it.

"Ava, do you want some help?" Megan asks.

"Yes please!"

Megan leaves my side and starts helping Ava build a sandcastle as I watch from afar. The sun glares down and makes them radiate even more than they both already do. There's nothing I would change about any of it. My life, my past, my decisions... Everything had happened the way it was supposed to, because in the end, it had led me here.

It had led me to this exact moment, where I was watching my wife and my daughter build a sandcastle on a perfect July morning. It had led me through the darkest moments of my life, which had inevitably built me up for some of the best moments, and had prepared me for all the moments to come.

Then Megan glances at me, the amazing smile I love so much stretching across her lips. Her eyes glow with a type of love that touches me, even from several feet away, and I feel it like the sun's rays. Ava must feel it too, because she laughs to herself when she successfully builds a second towel to her castle and looks up at Megan with excitement.

I lean back and close my eyes, and suddenly, I'm looking at my younger self. Young, rebellious, and damaged Sam that never thought she would be here. Young Sam that never would've imagined this type of life for herself.

She looks at me and smiles. It isn't forced and full of pain. It isn't conniving or sarcastic. The smile is genuine, as if it's a silent thank you. Before I can say or do anything, she turns around and disappears, as if being released from a cage she had been trapped in for years. And when I open my eyes again, Megan and Ava are still there, laughing and playing together.

My heart is full, and my eyes threaten to cry, but I know there's no need. The home Megan and I had built was strong and solid, with no more cracks in the foundation. We had made sure of that before bringing Ava into our lives because we knew she deserved nothing less.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Megan calls out.

I snap out of my thoughts and sit up, deciding I should join them.

"Come help us build the biggest sandcastle ever!"

"The biggest sandcastle ever, huh?" I tease. "We're gonna need a whole lot more wet sand if we're gonna pull that off."

"You're right."

"Race you to the water?" I challenge Ava who is all but taking off before me.

"Go!"

We race, and I let her win, which she of course gloats about on the way back to continue building her sandcastle. The day passes and we end up building something quite magnificent, then call it a day when the sun starts to set. It isn't until Ava is tucked away in bed with Charlie and Megan and I are curled up in our own bed that reality really sets in.

"I think she likes us," I whisper to Megan through the dark.

"Of course, she does." She laughs. "Did you have any doubt about it?"

"No, not really," I say while moving closer to her under the sheets.

"I'm excited to do this with you." Megan reaches out and touches me. "I think we're gonna make great parents. I really do."

I don't say anything back because I don't need to. There's no doubt that we will be great parents. So instead of saying anything, I just lean in and kiss Megan softly, letting her know that I agree with her. It feels like coming home after being away for a while, and like her, I'm excited to see what the future has in store for us, because for once in my life, there was no more fear in my heart about it.