Stephen was walking along a handrail, accompanied by a doctor. It had been a week since he had woken up from his coma. "Take it slowly, Mr. Kubiak. Your muscles still are very weak."
Stephen gritted his teeth and slowed down. "How much longer is this going to take!?"
"You were asleep for a whole year. You can't expect your muscles to bounce back to normal in a week."
"But I have an appointment with the orphanage tomorrow. How am I going to make it if you won't even let me walk without a rail?"
"We already told the owners of the orphanage to come here, along with Faith, to see if you're still up to adopting her."
Stephen rolled his eyes. "If I wasn't up to adopting her, I wouldn't be trying this hard to get to the meeting in the first place!"
The doctor sighed. "Just keep walking slowly. After this, we'll get you to life a couple of light weights."
Stephen merely shook his head and continued to walk. Soon, he was tired and sat down to rest. After resting, he continued with the rehab.
A couple hours later, the rehab ended, and Stephen slowly walked to his hospital room. Now time to get ready to meet with them…
Stephen got a change of clothes and went slowly to the bathroom. After several minutes, he successfully got himself dressed. Soon, he was sitting on his hospital bed, waiting for the people to arrive.
He didn't have to wait long. A nurse walked up to his door. "Mr. Kubiak, the people from the adopting agency have arrived to speak with you."
"Let them in."
The nurse shook her head and left. Seconds later, a man and a woman walked into the room. "Stephen Kubiak I assume?"
"Yes sir."
"My name is Mitchell Gull. This is my wife, Rhonda. We heard that you are interested in adopting Faith. Is that correct?"
"It is sir."
"Tell me, why are you interested in adopting her?"
"You see…the day her mom was sent into a coma…I tried to save her from the car. I pushed her out of the way…and…and…when she landed…she hit her head. It's my fault she's in a coma…so I feel responsible to raise her daughter until she wakes up."
"A very noble reason. Also, why should we let you adopt Faith? Do you have means to support her?"
"Honestly, right this second…no. However, my rehab is almost complete, and I will be able to get a job as soon as I am released."
"Very well. Now, let me ask you a personal question…is there a…ahem…person you have in mind to be the adoptive mother?"
Stephen flinched before dropping his head. "That's an issue…"
"There is no mother?"
"No…the person I had intended to eventually marry is…is…Faith's mother…"
Mitchell raised his eyebrows and looked at his wife, who also had her eyebrows raised. "Is this another reason why you want to adopt her? To use Faith as leverage to win over her mother's heart?"
"No! I would never do something like that! I'll even sign a document giving Carmella full guardianship when she wakes up. I just feel the need to make sure Faith is raised up well until Carmella wakes up."
Mitchell shook his head. "Alright, I'll allow you to adopt Faith, under the condition you stated. I will get the legal documents for you to sign tomorrow. After that, we'll take you to the house to meet Faith. It's best you two get acquainted before you adopt her."
"Of course…"
Mitchell and Rhonda stood up, and Mitchell stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Stephen Kubiak."
Stephen shook Mitchell's hand. "Likewise."
Mitchell and Rhonda smiled and left the hospital room. So it's really happening…I'm going to adopt Faith…until Carmella wakes up, of course.
Stephen sighed and collapsed on the bed. "I should go apply online for jobs now, so that when I adopt Faith, I'll have at least some funds already stored up."
The next day, Mitchell and Rhonda indeed came back with the official documents. "Now, if you sign here, you declare that you are the temporary guardian until her mother, Carmella, wakes up. When she does, you thereby relinquish any custody you have of her, and give her to her mother."
Stephen shook his head, took a pen, and signed the document. Mitchell eagerly shook his head. "Excellent! Now, I got permission from your doctor to take you to meet Faith. We'll leave in ten minutes, so I expect you to be by the hospital entrance by then."
Mitchell and Rhonda walked away. Stephen hobbled into his room, grabbed his crutches, and went to the hospital entrance. His doctor was waiting for him as well. "Stephen, don't take this too hard. If you feel weak or faint, stop and take a break! We don't need you backsliding now when we've made a lot of progress."
Stephen smirked. "Don't worry, everything will be fine!"
The doctor shook his head. "Very well then…off you go."
Stephen smiled and exited the hospital. The fresh air hit his face like a cannon. I almost forgot what fresh air felt like…The hospital air is always a bit…stale.
Mitchell soon greeted Stephen and helped him to a van. Once Stephen was comfortable, Mitchell helped Rhonda in and took off toward the orphanage. After a ten minute drive, they arrived. "Here we are. Now, Faith will probably be playing with her favorite doll when we walk in, probably in the study.
Stephen shook his head. "Got it!"
Mitchell and Rhonda helped Stephen get up the steps and enter the building. The sound of children playing penetrated Stephen's ears. "There are a lot of children here…"
"Well, not many people are adopting right now, but we're getting by. Now, the study is just straight ahead and to the right. You can't miss it."
Stephen shook his head and, with the crutches, moved down the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, Stephen turned the corner and looked into the study, to see a brown haired baby fondling a doll. An employee of the orphanage was watching her. "Oh, you must be Mr. Kubiak. I was told to expect you." The employee stood up. "This, is Faith." The employee picked up Faith and cradled her. "She's still young, but she still loves that doll to death. Anyways, sit down so you can hold her for the first time!"
Stephen nodded and went to a chair. Once he sat down, the employee eagerly set Faith down into his arms. Faith let out a little gurgling noise and smiled slightly. She still grasped onto the doll.
"Faith…my name is Stephen Kubiak…your temporary father. Pleased to meet you."
Faith seemed to understand him, and let out a happy squeal.
Stephen smiled, knowing he had made the right decision to adopt her.
