“I’m on the run, nowhere to go. Living where I can.” Those are the thoughts that are running rampant in the head of 7 year old Kyle. Kyle tries to forget what happened to his family, but he cannot out of fear for his life. What does life have in store for Kyle? Will he find the meaning of life? Or will he live in agony for the rest of his life?

Chapter One:

Living alone is something that has become normal for Kyle. Having lost all of his family, he has nobody to go to. Now Kyle is just fighting to stay alive. He hasn’t gotten a haircut in 2 and a half years and his hair is down to his back. All Kyle wants is someone to love him for who he is, and not be forced to act the way society wants him to. Kyle was never a fan of sports. He loved to read and write. He had no friends and was always alone. On this very day Kyle is just trying to find a place to wind down for the evening. He’s been walking for days now and is just trying to get as far away from where he grew up as possible. Having to go back there would scar Kyle for life. Having been abused by his father, Kyle wants nothing to do with the town he grew up in. Kyle finally decides to take shelter in a nearby park underneath a gazebo. As he is unloading his Sleeping Bag and pillow, he starts to feel dizzy and as soon as he gets his sleeping bag set up he slides in and falls asleep.
The next morning while Kyle is still asleep a Woman is arriving with her kids and happens to notice Kyle laying there. She contemplates waking the boy up but decides to wait for him to wake up before talking with him. “Go play” the woman says to her kids and goes to sit on a nearby bench. While her kids are playing she can’t help but notice that the boy under the gazebo looked helpless.

Kyle finally wakes up and starts to put his stuff away when he notices that a woman is watching him. Out of fear he quickly puts his stuff away and keeps on walking.

The woman notices Kyle leaving and asks a woman sitting next to her if she could watch her kids for a moment. She starts to walk towards Kyle and she notices that he isn’t in good shape. He’s as small as her 2 year old daughter and is very thin. “Excuse me son?” she says to Kyle.

Kyle hears someone talking in his direction and notices the lady that was watching him earlier trying to talk to him. He runs to a nearby tree and starts crying.

The woman follows Kyle to the tree and notices him crying. “It’s alright kid, you’ll be fine. What’s your name?” the woman asks Kyle.

“Kyle” he says very quietly.

“Kyle, are you okay?” the woman asks.

“No I’m not, I lost my entire family three days ago and I’ve been trying to get as far away from where I used to live as possible.”

“Do you have anywhere to go?” the woman asks.

“No I don’t.” Kyle says

“Would you want to come home with me?”

Kyle thinks for a moment before answering “You won’t hurt me will you?”

“I would never do that, come with me” the woman says as she picks Kyle up.

Kyle buries his face into the woman’s shoulder.

The woman says to Kyle “You can call me Amanda”

Kyle says to Amanda “Thank you.”

Amanda then says to her kids, “Come on kids it’s time to go.”

With kids in tow Amanda heads to the car and buckles in her kids then goes into the back of her car and gets another Car seat.

Kyle then asks “What’s with the car seat?”

Amanda says “With you being as small as you are, you need to be in a car seat.”

Kyle then says “Am I really that small?” he then realizes that he is the size of her oldest kid.

Amanda then picks him up and straps him into the car seat.

In the car nothing really happens. Amanda takes Kyle home with her for the evening and the next bit of dialogue is set at her home.

“Kyle honey can you come here please?” Amanda asks Kyle as she shoos her girls off to play.

Kyle looks very nervous as he walks over to talk to Amanda.

“Kyle, I need to ask you a few questions. Whether you answer them or not is up to you but, I encourage you to open up to me so I can help you.”

Kyle nods his head and Amanda takes out a pad of paper and a pen.

“Kyle, what happened to your family that you ended up out here?”

Kyle thinks for a moment on how to respond.

Kyle then says “My house burned down and I got my few things out and left. I couldn’t stand living with my father any longer, he was hurting me almost every day for every little thing I did wrong.”

Kyle is sobbing by this point and Amanda gives him a minute to collect himself.

“I also ran because he wouldn’t accept me for who I am. He kept forcing me to be something that I am not. He was trying to get me to do things that I’m not interested in.”

Amanda then says “Sounds like you’ve had a rough life there Kyle. Did you ever know your mother Kyle?”

Kyle just shook his head no and said “She died when I was a baby.”

Amanda then says “Kyle I get the feeling there’s more about you that you’re not telling me. You alluded to something but never actually said what you meant by what you were saying to me. You don’t have to tell me right now but it’d be easier if you told me now so I can try and help you.

Kyle thinks for a moment then decides to come out of his shell that he’s been in since he was 2 years old.

“I never got a normal childhood Amanda, I was forced to grow up really early and never got the chance to be a kid. I was forced to do everything myself because my dad was always busy and never had any time for me. To add to all of that I have some other issues that are bugging me that I’m afraid to tell anyone in fear of being beaten senseless.”

“Kyle, it’s ok. Just tell me what is on your mind. I won’t be mad at you for what you tell me. I’m here to help you, not hurt you.”

“Well um, ever since I was about 2 I’ve always felt like a girl inside. I’ve wished I was a girl for years but could never tell anyone because I would’ve gotten in trouble.”
At this point Kyle was bawling and Amanda just came over and cuddled him in her arms.

“Kyle, it’s ok. I’m here for you. But I need to ask you a few more questions than you can lay down ok?”

“Ok……..” Kyle says while sniffling.

“Kyle, do you wet the bed or have accidents during the day?”

“Yes I do, I’ve wet the bed all my life. I was never fully trained during the day either. I wet myself almost every day and can’t control myself.”

Amanda is looking at Kyle shocked by what she just heard. Bedwetting at his age is somewhat common but not being Day trained shocked her.

“Kyle, I think we can knock two birds out with one stone here.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that I can allow you to express yourself as a girl and help you with the wetting.”

Kyle looks shocked, gets up and hides behind a chair and says “I need to be alone for a bit, I need some time to think.”

Amanda says ok and goes off to check on her kids.

“Hey girls, how’s it going?”

“Good mommy!” They all say in unison

Amanda then proceeds to check their diapers one by one and all are dry. She then goes out to the kitchen and gets herself a glass of Lemonade.

After she gets her lemonade she goes out to check on Kyle.
“Kyle honey, are you ok?” She asks as she notices him in a fetal position looking frightened.

Kyle then says “Just scared right now, I need help!”

Amanda picks him up and says “its ok Kyle just calm down. Would you like some water to calm you?”

Kyle nods and Amanda proceeds to get him a glass of water which he drinks and calms down.

“Now Kyle, I understand you’ve been through a lot lately. But, I need your cooperation so I can help you okay?”

Kyle nods and Amanda carries him to her daughter Haley’s room.

“Now Kyle, I’m here to help you not hurt you. If at any point you get uncomfortable just say so and I’ll stop ok?”

Kyle nods and Amanda proceeds to get clothes out for Kyle.

“Would you like a dress with Dora on it or a shirt and skirt with Princesses on it?”

Kyle says “Dwess please.”

Amanda grabs the dress and gets some tights as well to go along with the dress.

Grabbing a diaper Amanda says “Until we start training you, you’ll be wearing these ok?”

“Also what should I call you now that you’re a girl?”

Kyle thinks for a moment then says “Lilly.”

“Ok Lilly, let’s get you dressed ok?”

Lilly nods and Amanda starts to get her dressed. Starting with the diaper, she powders Lilly up and then tapes the diaper up. After the diaper, Amanda puts the tights on Lilly.

“These tights feel good. I wish I could’ve tried them on sooner.”

“That’s good to hear Lilly.” Amanda says while smiling.

Amanda then puts the dress on Lilly and puts her hair into Pigtails.

Lastly, Amanda puts some socks on Lilly and leads her over to a mirror.

Lilly is looking at herself in awe. She never imagined she’d look this good as a girl.

Lilly then says “Thank you Amanda.”

She proceeds to hug Amanda and cry tears of joy.

“Would you like a nap sweetheart? I bet you’re exhausted after today.”

Lilly yawns and nods. Amanda takes her over to her 2 year old daughter Haley’s bed and tucks her in.

“Sweet Dreams Lilly.”

Lilly falls asleep almost instantly and Amanda turns the lights off excluding the nightlight.

"I’m on the run, nowhere to go. Living where I can.” Those are the thoughts that are running rampant in the head of 7 year old Kyle. Kyle tries to forget what happened to his family, but he cannot out of fear for his life. What does life have in store for Kyle? Will he find the meaning of life? Or will he live in agony for the rest of his life?

Chapter 2 :

Amanda walks to her office and cracks the door just enough to where she can hear her kids. She picks up the phone and calls one of her colleagues at work(She works for the county as a social Worker) to relay her situation.

“Hey Amanda, what can I do for you today?”

“I actually got 2 things I need you to do for me. The first being that I need you to look into a case about 3 counties over where the family died in a house fire. The second being I need to have you place a kid with me that I found homeless in a nearby park.”

“The first should be no problem but can you elaborate on the second?”

“I found this kid in a nearby park who coincidentally came from a house fire but I don't think this case is related to the first. Anyway, I found him and he was quite small for his age and had other things wrong as well.”

“My oh my, that is definitely a travesty. Do you have a name for the kid?”

“His first name is Kyle but he won't tell me his last name because of his past abuse.”

“You said he had other issues as well. Can you elaborate for the paperwork?”

“This kid is a Transgender kid. He’s a girl at heart but is a boy elsewhere.”

“Wow, that's a shocker.”

“Yea it sure is. That compounded with abuse is sad.”

“Get that foster paperwork done ASAP ok?”

“Will do hon, see you soon.”

With that Amanda hangs up the phone and goes to check on her girls.

“Hey girls, how are you?”

“Good!” They Both say in unison.

“I need to talk with u guys about something can you come here please.”

“Ok!” The girls say and they go to sit with their mother.

“You know the kid we picked up at the park?” Amanda says to her daughters.

They both nod and look at their mother confused.

“Well that kid will soon be apart of our family, I’m taking him in and you will have a new sister. She’s a little younger than you Haley.”

Haley is beaming at the thought of having another sister who’s around her age.

Her other daughter Samantha is in utter confusion after her mom says this to her.

“Now Sammy I can see your confused, I will explain it more when she wakes up ok?”

Sammy nods and hugs her mother.

“Would you two like to watch a movie?”

Both girls say yes and Amanda puts in her favorite Disney movie Cinderella.

Meanwhile, Lilly is fast asleep and ends up sleeping for about an hour before waking up.

Lilly gets out of bed and walks out into the living room rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Hey Lilly how are you?” Amanda asks.

“Good.”

“Looks like someone needs a new diaper?”

Lilly nods and just snuggles up on the couch next to Amanda watching the movie.

After the movie finishes, Amanda takes the girls to their rooms and changes their diapers before getting them dressed to go shopping.

“Get your shoes on girls.”

“Here Lilly you can wear these.” Amanda says.

“Can you help me?”

“Sure thing.”

After getting their shoes on they head out to the car, where Amanda proceeds to buckle them into their carseats.

“Alright girls let’s go shopping!”

Haley and Sammy are beaming but Lilly is just staring out the window.

Haley asks her mom “Where we going?”

Amanda says, “It’s a surprise for all of you.”

Haley then turns to Lilly and says “Hey Lilly?”

Lilly turns to Haley and says “Yeah?”

“You otay?”

“Just scared.”

“Why Scared?”

“Me not loved til mommy found me.” Lilly says while starting to cry.

Haley reaches over and grabs Lilly’s hand and says “We wuv you Lilly, don't cry.”

“You no get it. Me hurt badwy inside by my daddy."

Amanda hears this and steps in “Lilly, it's ok to cry, we all have to at one point or another.”

Haley then says “ You want hug Lilly?”

Lilly nods and Haley says “When we get there I give you hug ok?”

Lilly nods and lays her head back to rest.

“We’re almost here girls!”

“Yay!” Says Sammy and Haley

Lilly looks on as she sees that they're pulling into a Mall.

“We going to Mall?” Asks Lilly

“We are Lilly! About once a month I treat the girls to a little shopping where they get clothes and what not!”

By this point Lilly was beaming. She was excited to go shopping because she never got to do so before today.

“Lilly, before we go in I want you to know that you can get what you want. Don't be afraid to ask ok?”

Lilly nods and waits for Amanda to unbuckle her carseat.

Amanda parks and proceeds to unbuckle the girls from their carseats.

Haley then gives Lilly the hug that she promised and they proceed to enter the mall.

“Where first girls?” Amanda asks the girls.

“Clothes!” All three girls say.

“Ok let's go.” Amanda says.

They enter a store
and start browsing the clothes.

Lilly looks at clothes but doesn't see anything that suits her.

“Find anything Lilly?” Amanda enquires

Lilly shakes her head and keeps looking.

“You've never done this have you Lilly?”

“No.” Lilly says softly.

“I’ve never had to pick out clothes because I only got hand me downs.” Lilly whispers

“Well let's find something you like ok?” Amanda states

Lilly nods and takes hold of Amanda’s hand

Lilly sees a nightgown with flowers on it and picks it up feeling the material but not sure if it suits her.

Amanda notices Lilly in deep thinking and proceeds to say “I think that’d look cute on you Lilly.”

“It's not that, I'm just not sure if it's me or not.”

“Want to try it on?”

“I don't even know what size I am.” Lilly vocalizes.

“Well you fit perfectly into Haley’s clothes so I know what size you are.”

“Come on Haley,Sammie, we’re going to try clothes on now.”

*Warning* Things are about to get shaky so be forewarned.

“Momma, can we all get a matching outfit?” Haley asks

Amanda ponders her daughter’s question and replies “I think you’re asking the wrong person here Haley.” Amanda winks at her daughter.

Lilly then proceeds to have a flashback.

3rd birthday, only thing I wanted was a doll to comfort me when I was alone. Instead my dad bought me this outfit that matched him to the T. My grandparents were so nice, they gave me my best gift that year. They got me the doll I wanted. The day after is when things changed. Dad no longer cared about me. When I did see him it was when he beat me senseless. I was always sad, my grandparents loved me, I wished I could live with them.

4th-7th birthday: No gifts to be seen, dad at work, me being alone with nobody to talk to. Was teased to death in school, my one saving grace was my friend Brianna. If it weren’t for her, i would be dead by now. She was the only one who’d talk to me. My grandparents died in a car accident the day before my 6th birthday and were killed. My dad wanted nothing to do with them, after the funeral we never spoke a word of them.

This past birthday was the worst yet, nobody loved me, nobody cared about me. No presents, no nothing.
*Snap back to reality*

“Lilly, would you like a matching outfit with me?” Haley asks

“What you thinking of?” Lilly asks

Haley proceeds to show Lilly an outfit consisting of a T-Shirt with Cinderella on it, a pink skirt and some white tights to go with it.

“That's adorable Haley.” Amanda states.

Lilly nods in agreement.

“Can we try it on mom?” Haley asks.

“Go right ahead, let me help you though.” Amanda

Amanda proceeds to help Haley and Lilly get into the outfit.

“Go look in the mirror you two.”

*Lilly looks at herself and is in awe at what she sees*

Lilly looks at Haley and comments “We look like twins.”

Haley looks at herself, then at Lilly and says “We do don't we?”

Amanda looks at the two of them dumbfounded. Lilly was right, they do look a lot like twins. “If I didn't know better I would have thought they were twins.” Amanda thinks to herself.

She happens to look over at Sammie who fell asleep.

“Alright, let's get your other clothes back on and we’ll pay and go somewhere else.”

*Amanda proceeds to get Haley and Lilly back into their other clothes. Then pays for the clothes and head off to a store that sells beds.*

“Now Lilly, this is a turning point for you. You get to pick your bed out. Now I need you to think hard ok?”

Lilly looks up at Amanda scared and Haley grabs her hand and whispers “Let's find you a bed ok?”

Lilly nods and hugs Haley then proceeds to look at all the beds.

Lilly then puts her hand on a bed that has princesses all over it but doesn't think it fits her. She continues on and finds her dream bed, a Pink bed with Dora on it. It is the one calling her name. She proceeds to sit on the bed and notices it has bed rails on one side.

Amanda looks on as Lilly inspects the bed, thinking to herself “That bed screams Lilly in my eyes” then proceeds to ask “Is this what you want Lilly?”

Lilly looks up at Amanda and states “I think so, this seems to feel me inside.”

*If not by sheer luck, or just a mere coincidence, a floor salesman walks up to Amanda*

“Anything I can help you gals with?” The man politely asks.

“Yes actually, I'm buying a bed for my daughter and she picked this one.” Pointing at the bed Lilly was sitting on.

“Sure thing, I’ll have one of the clerks ring you up for the purchase but before I go I must ask do you want the set or just the bed?”

“What comes with the set?”

“The set includes a Dresser, the bed, and a nightstand.”

“What's the difference in price?”

“The set itself is on sale this week and it's only about 25$ more than the bed itself.”

“I think we’ll get the set then if the price is that reasonable.”

“Alright then, I’ll have a clerk ring you up and one of the men in back will bring the set out to your car.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Amanda, I know this may sound strange, but I already see you as a mother to me. The girls also feel like sisters to me. What I'm trying to say is, can……..” Lilly chokes up at this point and Haley embraces her sister as Lilly calms herself down.

Amanda is tearing up at this point and says to Lilly “ No need to say anymore Lilly, I know what you were going to ask. Yes it's fine if you call me mom/momma. You're my daughter now Lilly and I don't see you as anything else.”

Lilly gets up off the bed and hugs Amanda.

“Thank you, You're the mother I never had.”

Amanda then takes Lilly and Haley’s hands and heads up to pay for the bed set.

“Have a good evening ma'am.” The cashier says after the items are paid for.

*Amanda heads out of the store with all three kids and a worker puts the bed set in the back of the car for Amanda.*

*Amanda then buckles the girls into their Car seats and they head home.*

*All three girls slept on the way home and by the time they got home it was time to get ready for bed.*

Sammie being the youngest was done first. Followed by Haley and then Lilly.

“Lilly, would you like anything to drink in bed?”

Lilly shakes her head no “I can't have anything in bed, last time I did I got sick.”

Amanda looks at Lilly shocked. This little girl really was deprived of her childhood.

“How about if I help you? Would that make you feel better?”

Lilly thinks for a moment and nods slowly not being sure what to expect.

Amanda goes out to the kitchen and makes up a warm bottle of milk for Lilly. “Hopefully this will calm her down after such a stressful day.”

Lilly waits in the living room looking at what she is wearing. A footed sleeper with Disney characters all over. She wonders if she’ll ever feel normal.

Amanda returns and scoops up Lilly and puts Lilly in her arms.

“Lilly, I want you to know I care about you. I said this earlier but I’ll say it again. If at any point you don't feel comfortable with me doing something then tell me and I’ll stop.”

Lilly nods and Amanda puts the bottle into Lilly’s mouth.

Lilly is already tired but the bottle cements that fact and she falls asleep drinking the bottle.

Amanda takes the bottle out and replaces it with a binky.

She then puts Lilly in a Pack and Play for the night noting that when her husband gets home tomorrow she'll have to have him set up Lilly’s bed.

End of Chapter 2

Chapter 3:

Amanda goes into her office and sits in her chair.

“My oh my what a day!”

*She then picks up her phone and dials up her husband.*

“Hey hun how’s you’re day been today?” Amanda’s husband asks.

“Oh it was great, and I have a surprise for you when you get home tomorrow.”

“Oh really? Well I can’t wait to see it.”

“By the way, you’ll be doing some assembling when u get home.”

“Ok hun that’s no big deal I figured I’d have to do something now that it’s spring.”

“Well hun I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Dear.” Amanda says as she hangs up the phone.

*Amanda heads off to bed and goes to bed.*

*The next morning Sammie wakes up first but leaves her sisters alone and just plays quietly in her room.*

*Meanwhile Amanda is starting to stir in bed and finally gets up and puts a robe on to head downstairs.*

*She checks on the girls and sees Sammie awake but Haley and Lilly still asleep*

“Good morning sweetheart.” Amanda says to Sammie.

“Good morning momma.” Sammie says before standing up to give her mom a hug.

Meanwhile Lilly starts to stir downstairs and feels a bit strange. Her bottom hurt and she felt sick.

Haley finally wakes up and goes to find her momma.

“Hi momma.” Haley says to Amanda.

“Hey Sweetie, did you sleep ok?”

Haley nodded and proceeds to walk away to go check on her “twin”.

Lilly is just laying down trying to come to terms with what happened yesterday.

As she is thinking Haley comes up to her and says “Hey Lilly, how are you”

“Ok I guess, my bottom hurts but that's nothin.”

Amanda then walks in and says “Hi Lilly, how’d you sleep?”

Lilly states “Better than normal I guess.”

Amanda says to Lilly “ That’s good. You ready to get dressed? We’ve got a busy day today.”

Lilly nods and Amanda takes her out of the pack and play and takes her and Haley upstairs to get them dressed.

As soon as they get upstairs Amanda picks Haley up and changes her diaper then proceeds to dress her in a dress and tights.

She then proceeds to send Haley off to play with her sister.

Amanda then puts Lilly up on the table and asks Lilly “Were you smart in school before all this started?”

Lilly shakes her head no. “They had us take a test last year and it said I was as smart as a 2 year old. Lilly then proceeds to shake uncontrollably. Thankfully she was already dressed and Amanda could pick her up and calm Lilly down.

Lilly’s shaking stops after a few minutes and she proceeds to hug Amanda and whispers “Thank you mommy.”

Amanda replies “you're welcome sweetie, I love you to death.”

Lilly then asks “What happened to the girls daddy?”

Amanda approaches this question carefully as to not confuse Lilly. “The girls daddy is a nice man, he works all over the place because he runs a company.”

Lilly doesn't respond so Amanda continues “He’ll be home today and will meet his newest daughter today”

Amanda then proceeds to put Lilly on the floor and Lilly looks up at Amanda confused but doesn't say anything.

“Do you want to go play with the girls? Or do you want to cuddle with me in the living room until Daddy comes home?” Amanda asks Lilly.

“Cuddle.”

“Ok let’s go then.” Amanda says getting up and grabbing Lilly’s hand and leading her down to the living room.

“Lilly, you seem scared of something right now. Is there anything bothering you right now?”

Lilly doesn’t really have an answer to that question that would make sense so she says “I dunno. This just seems like a dream to me. You took me in without a second thought. You are letting me be myself and helping me overcome problems I don’t think I’d ever have by myself.”

“You’re giving me the second chance at life I could’ve only dreamt about before this happened. I never got any sort of love my early years in life. The two people that ever showed me any sort of love were my grandparents but they died a few years ago so I lost any sort of love in my life. All I ever wanted was a chance at doing things over and you’re giving me that.”

By this point Amanda is the one crying, she never realized how much this actually meant to Lilly.

“I don’t even know what to say Lilly, I knew that this meant something to you but I never realized that it meant that much to you for getting a second chance at life. I do want to ask you something Lilly. How far do you want to go with this?”

Lilly hadn’t thought about this until this point but says “ I really don’t know. I wanted to be thought of as a 2 year old like Haley but I didn’t think much further than that. I always thought of myself as the one nobody cared about when I was in school. I had one friend so to say but she moved during christmas this year.”

Amanda hugs Lilly then says “You’re family now Lilly, your free to be whoever you so choose. If that means you need a restart at life then we’ll give that to you. If that means that you want to be a girl that’s ok we’ll help you with that too. We’re here for you Lilly and I want to make sure you know that. You will become ours soon. I had the paperwork rushed so I could help you with all your problems.”

“Before I get too much further I do want to ask something, Do you happen to know anything from any previous doctor’s visits?”

Lilly thinks for a moment and says “The only 2 things I remember are that the doctor said I was both a boy and a girl and that I was heavily behind on shots.”

Amanda sits there thinking “Did I hear what I think I just heard? The kid sitting with me right now is Intersexed? The shot thing wasn’t major because she could have that sorted out when she took the girls to the doctor’s next.”

“Lilly, if what you said is true about you being both a boy and a girl, then we could have your unneeded parts removed and you could grow up the same as Haley and Sammie.”

Lilly doesn’t know what to say at this point as she is shocked by what her mother is telling her right now.

“I’d like that but I don’t know how i’d feel if things went wrong”

“Leave that part to me and your Father, in the meantime how about we go take care of getting Sammie dressed?

Lilly goes with her momma to go get Sammie and get her ready for the day.

After Sammie is dressed they hear the front door open and close.

Lilly thinks in her head “oh that must be the girl’s daddy.” Something didn’t quite feel right in her body about the possibility of the person that just arrived in the house actually being her new father.

This feeling got her scared and she ended up going back in the room they were just in and hid under the bed that was in the room. Her memories started flowing back in rapid succession and really startled Lilly.

The memories of her real father beating her senseless every time she walked in the door. The memories of her worthless father not giving her a care in the world. The memories of her father never wanting to care for his kid at any point in her life.

Meanwhile, downstairs the girls are overjoyed to have their father back and are bombarding him with hugs and kisses once he got in the door.

Lilly upon hearing this starts to loosen up a bit and starts to calm herself down.

Amanda starts to feel like something is missing but she can't quite remember what. She then realizes that Lilly is still upstairs and says she’ll be right back to her husband.

She walks into the room where she changed the girls and sees Lilly lying on the floor just staring into thin air.

Amanda says “Lilly are you ok?”

Lilly looks over and sees Amanda and gets up and hugs her hard.

“No I not okay.”

Amanda picks Lilly up and sits in a chair she has in the room and starts rocking.

“It's okay to cry Lilly, we won't hold it against you if you feel like you have to cry. We're here for you and we know you were not loved previously. Just let it out Lilly, keeping this inside you will only make it worse.”

Lilly doesn't know what to think right now. On one side she wants to cry but the other side of her is resisting what Amanda just said.

“Tank yous Amanda. You weally made me happy. “

Amanda hugs Lilly and asks her “Are you ready to meet your new daddy?”

Lilly looks up at Amanda and nods.

Amanda picks Lilly up and brings Lilly down by her husband where he is playing with his girls in the family room.

Her husband proceeds to look up at her with Lilly in her arms and says “Who is this little cutie?”

Lilly blushes at being called a cutie.

Amanda then proceeds to say “ This is Lilly, a friend of the girls who was orphaned after her house burned down with her parents in it.”

“I heard about that house fire on the news. Such a tragedy. Are we adopting her?”

“Yes we are, this was my surprise that I mentioned over the phone.”

“Before we go much further hun I must warn you that she may not open up to you right away. She was abused by her father and doesn't take to men very easy.”

“We’ll take it slow hun, but I do want to hold her if she’ll let me.”

Lilly doesn't really comprehend what he just said but Amanda saves the day by saying “Can Daddy hold you for a bit sweetheart?”

Lilly whispers “He won't hurt me will he?”

“No he won't but if you feel uncomfortable then just say so.”

Lilly nods and Amanda hands Lilly over to her husband.

In the arms of her new father, Lilly feels quite unusual, not really uncomfortable but just a sense of kindness that she never felt in the arms of any man since her grandfather.

Is this person ok to be my new father?

Amanda is looking on at her husband holding Lilly, watching her to see any signs of her not being comfortable. To her surprise Lilly is taking this quite well.

Her husband says “ She's adorable. But before we go to eat I would like a shower because the shower in my hotel room broke the last night I was there so I couldn't shower before coming home.”

Her husband stands up and sets Lilly on the floor next to Haley and Sammie.

“I’ll be back girls. I'm going to take a shower then we will go get some food ok?”

Haley and Sammie nod but Lilly doesn't do anything because she honestly didn't know what to do.

After her husband left to shower, Amanda picked up Lilly and sat on the couch with her.

“Were you ok with daddy?”

“I be ok wit daddy, he seem nice.”

“Me no feel wight when he talked before weaving.

“You’ll get used to it Lilly.”

About 10 minutes pass and Daddy comes back out in a different set of clothes.

“Are we ready to go ladies?”

“We just need to get shoes on and we’ll be ready.”

Amanda helps the girls get shoes on and then grabs the diaper bag and heads out to the car.

She gets the girls in their car seats and they head off to eat.

While they are on their way to the restaurant dad decides to ask Amanda some stuff about Lilly.

“I know we were talking about adopting another kid but I wasn't expecting it so soon.”

“There's more to Lilly than what meets the eye.”

“I had a feeling something like that was the case.”

“She was abused by her father the first few years of her life and is very shy.”

“How old is she? I don't think I asked you before we left.”

“She's about a month younger than Haley.”

“There's more that I need to ask but I think she's a keeper. She's such a doll.”

By the time that conversation finished they were at the restaurant.