“Hi, Maisie. Remember me? I’m Nathan’s sister.”
Maisie nodded and climbed onto the couch between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Nathan hesitated.
Clare answered honestly.
“How Nathan wants you and Rowan to stay with him forever.”
Maisie’s eyes widened.
“Forever ever?”
Nathan shot Clare a look, but the truth was already out.
“Yes,” he said gently. “I’m trying to make us an official family.”
Maisie’s joy flashed, then disappeared beneath fear.
“What if the people in charge don’t let us?”
Nathan knelt in front of her.
“I’m doing everything I can.”
Maisie looked down at Mr. Buttons. She held him tightly for a moment, then pushed him into Nathan’s hands.
“Take him.”
Nathan froze.
“Why?”
“If everything goes wrong, he’ll stay with you. He doesn’t like being cold.”
The room broke open.
Nathan could barely breathe.
“Oh, Maisie.”
“Promise you’ll take care of him?”
“I promise,” Nathan whispered. “But nothing is going wrong. And Mr. Buttons belongs with you.”
He pulled her into his arms.
Over Maisie’s shoulder, he saw Clare wipe away tears.
After Maisie was tucked back in bed, Clare stood in the living room with a different expression.
“She gave you her teddy.”
“Yes.”
“That’s her most important thing?”
“Yes.”
Clare took a shaky breath.
“I didn’t understand.”
Nathan said nothing.
“She trusts you more than anyone.”
“I know.”
“And you love them.”
“More than I know how to say.”
Clare nodded.
“How can I help?”
The custody process took six months.
Forms. Interviews. Background checks. Home visits. Parenting evaluations. Infant care records. Medical reports. Character statements. Every part of Nathan’s life was opened, examined, questioned, and measured.
He endured it all.
The family court was not dramatic. No towering ceilings. No dark wood. Just beige walls, artificial plants, and a judge with gray hair and observant eyes.
Still, Nathan’s heart pounded when Judge Morris asked the question.
“Mr. Fisher, why do you wish to have permanent custody of Maisie Carter and Rowan Carter?”
Nathan stood.
“When I found them that night, I wasn’t looking for a family,” he said. “I was leaving a charity gala where people donate money to feel useful. I had done everything expected of me. I had wealth, success, and a life that looked complete. But I felt empty.”
He paused.
“Then I found a four-year-old girl in a cardboard box protecting a newborn. Maisie looked at me and said, ‘Please don’t let him feel cold.’ She didn’t ask for herself. She asked for her brother.”
The room was silent.
“In six months, I learned how to change diapers, prepare bottles, make bad pancakes, sing off-key lullabies, survive fevers, and explain why dragons sometimes need saving. I learned that love is not a feeling you announce. It is something you do repeatedly, especially when you are tired.”
Ms. Reynolds smiled faintly.
Nathan continued.