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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 19, 2016 2:45:02 GMT
It wasn't long after the wedding that the idea had come up that maybe it would have been nice for Madison to officially adopt Melanie as her own, but the problem ultimately lay in the fact that Simone still held some sort of legal right over her daughter. While it wasn't that she had custody nor was it that she had ever truly been a mother to her daughter, the fact remained that legally she still held rights as the little girl's mother. Which, as much as Maddy hated to admit it, meant that she was only ever going to legally become Melanie's mother if Simone allowed it. She had never even met the other woman but based on the things that she had heard about her and the power that she now held over this small part of her life, Maddy knew that she didn't like her much at all.
It didn't help, she supposed, that her best friend's announcement that she was having twins had started making her think about what she wanted in her future. She loved Melanie and whether or not anyone told her that she was officially the little girl's mother or not was of no difference to her, but she had to admit that the idea of having a baby of her own held a certain appeal. When she and Cooper had met baby Brody Finn for the first time it had been apparent to her that it was maybe something that they would have wanted some day, but she hadn't brought up the idea at the time. With wedding planning, the idea of planning for their far-off future was placed on the backburner and there it stayed through the trips that they had taken since then, but now that their married life was beginning to settle down, it was occurring to her that it was something that she really wanted.
It really seemed kind of perfect - the idea that she could maybe someday become a mother to her beautiful step-daughter, and maybe that she could provide Melanie with a little brother or sister for her to care for too.
She had gotten home from work a little early, wanting to get home and relieve the nanny as well as get dinner started and so she had spent her evening so far with Melanie at the table while she got dinner ready, talking to the little girl about what her day at school had been like and telling her a much modified synopsis of the book that she had been editing at work while they waited for Cooper to get home.
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 19, 2016 2:55:29 GMT
Melanie's feet dangled from the chair she sat in. She was playing with her fork and napkin while Maddy got dinner ready. Maddy always told her the best stories and she loved hearing all about them when they were home together. Really, she loved talking to Maddy about anything and was so glad that her father had married with Maddy so that she could move in and be her best friend and mom, because now no one at school could tell her that she didn't have a mommy - and because she was nice and brushed Melanie's hair without tugging any of it out the way her dad did, the way Melanie always thought a good mommy would.
"So there's not a princess in this story?" she asked curiously, making a face. "That's a silly story then!" Melanie looked up when she saw her father walk into the kitchen though, jumping up to run over to him. He easily scooped her up, but Melanie realized he didn't look happy. So she placed her hands on his face to try to push his cheeks up into a smile. "Daddy!"
Cooper offered his daughter a gently smile, kissing her temple before placing her back into her chair at the table. He walked over to Maddy and kissed his wife. Since they'd gotten married, he'd quickly fallen in love with their little family. He wanted to grow their family and also make sure that his two best girls were happy. Today, however, he'd gotten a call that had set him back just a bit. He wrapped his arms around Madison, kissing her and ignoring the way his daughter giggled and exclaimed "ew" at the display of affection. "Hello, beautiful," he told her. "I heard from Simone's lawyer today."
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 19, 2016 3:06:35 GMT
Maddy had always loved the time that she got to spend with Melanie, quickly realizing that the little girl was probably one of her closest friends in addition to being the perfect step-daughter. She loved telling her all about the stories she was reading, and while this particular story hadn't had a princess, she knew that later that night it was incredibly likely that she was going to get to read Melanie a story that did include princesses and adventures. It was probably one of her favorite things already and so despite the face that Melanie had made, she smiled brightly at her, her smile widening as she watched Cooper and Melanie together.
"Hey you," she greeted her husband, kissing him back happily. Married life certainly seemed to be suiting her, she realized, as even now she was still excited for him to get home, still loved spending time with him alone, and as a family too. But, she quickly noted, that happiness was easily soured by six words that she had been anxious to hear from him.
"Oh?" She kept her arms wrapped around him as well, knowing that if he had bad news she was going to want him nearby for comfort. Really, she admitted, if he had good news she was going to want him nearby anyway so that she could show how truly pleased she was with the development. "Good news or bad?"
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 22, 2016 20:02:39 GMT
Cooper wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with Maddy, especially with Melanie in the room. Since they’d been married, Cooper and Maddy had discussed the possibility of Melanie being adopted by his wife. His ex-wife had certainly abandoned the little girl and one would think she wouldn’t have put up a fight. Of course, maybe that was just asking for too much.
After spending most of the afternoon on the phone with one of his attorneys and one less than pleasant conversation on the phone with Simone, he had gone home.
“Simone is…not being very cooperative. And when I spoke about it with one of my attorneys, they were of the opinion that fighting her on it could be a long, drawn-out court battle. And as much as I want it to happen, I don’t know about putting her through that,” he admitted to Madison regretfully. “But I do want it – you’re already more of a mother to her than Simone ever was. If it’s important to the both of you, we can try to fight her on it.”
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 22, 2016 20:36:12 GMT
Maddy considered it for a moment, wondering if it would be worth it to put up a fight. As much as she told herself that it would be, that in the long-run it would have been better for everyone, the last thing that she wanted to do was to put Melanie in another uncomfortable situation. The memory of finding the little girl focusing on an iPad while her mother and father fought in the other room reminded her quickly that it wouldn't be fair to Melanie to get pulled into another argument. It did nothing to change her disappointment over the development, no matter how expected it was. She wasn't sure that she would have been eager to agree to hand over all rights as someone's mother either, though she knew that she never would have left in the first place.
"No," she said finally, forcing a small smile and detaching herself from her husband. "You're right, I don't want to put Melanie through that either. It was a nice to have not a need to have, it doesn't really change anything, does it?" The question was rhetorical as she knew that as far as she was concerned the legalities of the situation really didn't change anything for her.
Regardless of what her beloved fairy tales said, there was nothing wrong with being someone's step-mother, though she did have to admit that there was still a certain allure about truly being someone's mother. She blamed her recent lunch date with Riley and the news that her best friend was going to have twins, but she had been spending a lot of time thinking about what she thought her family might look like some day. In her fantasies, Melanie had never been an only child, but she also was as much her family, her daughter, as any other children that she and Cooper might have had.
Turning her attention back to getting dinner on the table, she used the opportunity to give herself a moment before smiling at Melanie. "Sweetheart, can you go wash your hands for dinner, please?"
Once Melanie was out of the room she turned her attention back to Cooper. "I can't say that I'm not disappointed," she admitted. "But I don't want to put Melanie through anymore fights with her mother. I suppose I just..." She trailed off, sighing. "It's fine."
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 22, 2016 21:25:44 GMT
Cooper nodded, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing the top of her head. “I know. But you know, at the end of the day it’s just paperwork. You know? Melanie has been excited for you to be her mother since the day I explained to her that you and I were getting married. We’re her family now, that’s what matters.”
He nodded and smiled down at her. “A family that I think we should consider expanding,” he told her with a small smirk, leaning down to kiss her quickly. Of course, at that moment, Melanie came skipping back into the room.
She skidded to a halt in front of both of the adults and looked up at them, before holding up her hands to show Madison that they were clean.
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 23, 2016 1:47:56 GMT
Madison nodded. She knew that it was just paperwork, but it was paperwork that held a lot of weight and seemed to be what stood in the way of her feeling like there wasn't anything else to worry about. Not that she was necessarily worried, she had to admit, she had still thought about what it would have been like to have been officially been Melanie's mother. But she knew that there was nothing wrong with just being the little girl's step-mother, especially when she knew that he had a good point about the fact that they had been a family for a while now. A family that she had to admit that she was pleased to hear that he was all for expanding.
Smiling brightly at Melanie's display of her hands, she nodded again. "Good job! Ready for dinner?"
Turning back to Cooper for a second, she smiled at him. "We should come back to that thought. I thing we should work on that soon," she admitted.
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 23, 2016 2:07:19 GMT
Melanie looked up them and smiled. "Yes!" she squeaked before scrambling back into her chair. "What are you gonna work on?" she asked curiously. She knew that they didn't work together, they had two different jobs, so she knew that it had to be something at home with their family. "Is it something fun? Are we going to go somewhere? Or get something new? ARE WE GETTING A PUPPY?" She smiled excitedly at them and then nodded, "We can do things together. The girls at school take swimming lessons with their mommies, can we do that? Or something fun?"
Cooper looked at Melanie with amusement. "I'll teach you to swim soon, Mel-Bell," he told her with a nod. He glanced up at Maddy at the little girl's questions. He wanted to be honest with her, he never would want her to feel like a new baby was replacing her. "Sweetie, how would you feel about being a big sister?" he asked her as he settled into his seat at the table.
Melanie paused, taking to make sense of the question. "What do you mean?"
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 23, 2016 2:54:40 GMT
Maddy laughed at Melanie's excitement over doing something as a family and she made a mental note to find something that they could all do. Swimming lessons was definitely a good start, but she still wondered if maybe Melanie would like to take ballet lessons or go paint pottery with her some day. Whether or not a piece of paper said that she was Melanie's mom, she figured that there wasn't anything anyone could do to stop her and Melanie from doing a couple of "mommy and me" activities.
"Mel," she started softly, wondering how the little girl was going to take the idea of their family expanding. The truth was, Melanie's approval was much more important than she might have realized. "How would you feel about having a little brother or sister someday?"
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 23, 2016 3:19:40 GMT
Melanie feet swung from her chair, trying to figure out an answer to that question. She pursed her lips, getting slightly distracted by the food on her plate. There weren't many kids around, that much she was aware of. Or at least not outside of school. Amber and Brandon had baby Brody, but he still couldn't talk at all. But Melanie figured that even if a baby brother or sister couldn't talk, she could play with it like she did her dolls - she could dress them up, have tea parties with them, read them stories, and make them play all the games she wanted. She smiled and looked up at Maddy. "Okay, we should get a baby," she said with authority in her tiny voice that made her father chuckle. "Can we get one tomorrow? Can I bring them to show and tell?"
Cooper winced, realizing they might have to find a way to explain where babies came from to the little girl. "It takes a while to have a baby, Mel-Bell," he told her.
Melanie frowned. "Okay," she did little to mask her disappointment, turning to Maddy, her eyes went wide. "Can you come to show and tell with me so I can show everyone my new mommy?"
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 23, 2016 15:51:54 GMT
Maddy grinned brightly at what she had decided to interpret as Melanie's approval and excitement over the idea of them expanding their family. As much as she loved the idea of taking Melanie to swim classes, signing up for "Mommy and Me" activities, and their little family taking trips, she couldn't deny the fact that the idea of their family growing held a certain allure. She would have been lying to herself if she said that having her own baby wasn't part of that allure, but ultimately she knew that there already wasn't a thing in the world that she wouldn't do for Melanie. In the short time that she had been part of Melanie and Cooper's family, she had quickly grown to care for the little girl as much more of a daughter than she would have thought possible.
When Melanie turned her attention on Madison, she couldn't help but continue to grin. "Of course I'll come to show and tell. We should make snacks for your class, too," she noted, more so reminding herself that it would have been a nice addition - maybe they could make something cute like ants on a log and bring the book. Oh, she thought, maybe she could see if she could get copies for all of the kids. Realizing she was quickly getting derailed, she glanced over at Cooper and smiled.
"And then, maybe in a couple of years, we can bring your little brother or sister in for show and tell too?" She didn't want to assume that they were going to jump right into it right away, or assume that they could just flip a switch and make it happen, especially when she knew that it had taken Riley and Adam some time to get it to work for them. But even that thought did nothing to keep her from wondering if it was something that they wanted to start trying for right away if it meant that their baby might get to grow up with Riley's twins. The more she thought about it, the more that she realized that she wouldn't have minded if they decided to start trying soon.
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 23, 2016 16:14:42 GMT
Melanie smiled happily at her parents, taking a bite of her food. She nodded thoughtfully when Maddy suggested bringing her future younger sibling to show and tell. “Can they come with me every day? I’ll teach them all the stuff I learn,” she nodded happily.
Cooper watched with amusement before reaching across the table and taking Maddy’s hand in his, he turned to Melanie. “Probably not every day, but if this happens, you’re going to have to teach them a lot of things as the big sister, kiddo.”
Melanie nodded happily. “If we can’t get the baby tomorrow, can we get it the day after tomorrow?” she asked curiously.
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 23, 2016 18:17:36 GMT
Maddy smiled and shook her head, not entirely sure how much they should really try to explain to her about the logistics of bringing a sibling into their lives. She wasn't even sure how much she really even knew to tell her, having never navigated this sort of conversation before. There was a lot that she was still getting the hang of in terms of being a mother-figure to Melanie, and she wasn't sure that she was necessarily prepared to handle a conversation about the birds and the bees, she was much more content just speaking with her about stories, school, and their activities. It was a much more romanticized version of what she thought that motherhood would be like.
But as they finished up dinner, she kept thinking of how much she loved the dynamic that they had been able to develop so quickly. She loved how happy Melanie seemed to be as she told them about school and as they talked about swimming lessons, she loved how involved she finally felt in their plans and how much Melanie asked her to get involved in even more, and she loved how easily she thought it would be for them to continue to expand their family.
After the plates had all been rinsed and placed into the dishwasher, Madison took a second to watch Melanie as she seemed to happily color in one of the Disney Princess coloring books that she had bought her. Knowing that they hadn't yet finished their conversation on the matter of their family, she turned to her husband and tilted her head in the direction of the table, gesturing to him to take a seat just out of Melanie's hearing range.
"So... you really think that we should think about trying?" She asked softly, taking her seat. "I know Riley and the twins has made me a little baby crazy, but we really don't have to rush into anything right now if you don't want to."
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Post by Cooper Benson on Feb 23, 2016 18:28:10 GMT
Cooper was amused when Melanie would periodically come up with something new to bring to show and tell, ranging from Madison to a moon rock. When dinner was said and done, he looked fondly at the little girl before turning to his wife. A small smile played on his lips when she asked him about trying to expand their family, as though she had to explain that she could wait.
“I think that we should try,” he told her. “I think it would be great for the two of us. I think Melanie is at the perfect age to start trying without being too old to play with a little brother or sister or too young to understand what’s going on. I think that when I asked you to marry me, I didn’t just want you to be a part of me and Melanie’s family, I wanted us to start one together.” He nodded and leaned in, kissing her on the lips. “Plus, I’m a big fan of what leads up to children,” he murmured against her.
"But if you want to wait, if it's not a good point in your career to take the time to be pregnant, I can wait, too. But I know it's something I want."
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Post by Madison Benson on Feb 23, 2016 19:56:48 GMT
Madison thought for a minute what exactly it was going to mean for them to start trying for another baby now, playing out each 'what if' scenario briefly and weighing the pros and cons. The pros were easy, they took no time at all to think about. In addition to also being a big fan of what lead up to them having children, she also knew that it would make sense for them to add to their family while Melanie was still young enough to have someone to play with and while the rest of their friends still had small children.
She smiled softly at Cooper and nodded, "It's something I want too," she admitted. "I think that there's a lot of reasons to start trying now." The reasons not to start trying were admittedly few and far between, but she thought that maybe there was still one worth mentioning.
"I do want you to know though that I'm not just saying this because of..." she trailed off for a second, realizing that she didn't really know how to describe the situation in a way that didn't leave her feeling raw.
"I'm not saying this because I'm not technically Melanie's mom. I know it's just paperwork and honestly, as long as she's happy, I'm happy." She gave a little shrug and smiled up at him. "I love everything about our little family right now, but I can't say that I don't like the idea of you and I starting a family together too," nodding, she added, "I think we might be pretty good at it. We already know that we're good at the part that leads up to it."
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