Chapter 6 - The Nursery Lights
The penthouse in downtown Chicago was warmer that evening.
The blizzard had finally blown itself out, leaving behind a pristine, blanketed city of glittering white snow under a clearing arctic sky. The stars above Lake Michigan shone like scattered diamonds.
In the newly renovated nursery on the second floor, two cribs sat side by side against the pale blue wall.
Inside them, Hope and Faith were sleeping peacefully, their tiny chests rising and falling in rhythmic unison. A soft mobile of silver stars turned slowly above them, casting gentle shadows across the ceiling.
Grace stood on a step stool beside the cribs, carefully adjusting a pink blanket over Faith’s shoulder.
"They like it when the room is warm," Grace whispered, looking back at William, who stood leaning against the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
"They're lucky you found them," William said softly, walking into the nursery and wrapping his arms around her from behind, lifting her safely down to the floor.
Grace turned around, wrapping her small arms around his waist. "Are they going to stay with us forever?"
William rested his chin on the top of her blonde hair, feeling a profound, overwhelming sense of completeness that he hadn't felt in six years.
"As long as they want to," William promised. "And so are you. Nobody is ever going to separate you three. We're a family now, Grace. All of us."
Downstairs, the front doorbell chimed softly.
Marcus appeared at the end of the hallway a moment later, holding a clipboard. "Boss, social services just signed off on the permanent emergency placement waiver for both infants. Legally and officially, the Hartwell household just expanded by three."
William smiled, looking down at his daughter. "Did you hear that, Grace? You officially have two little sisters to boss around."
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Grace grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'm going to teach them how to build treehouses."
"Only if I help with the blue paint," William laughed, picking her up effortlessly and swinging her in a circle as the penthouse filled with the sound of genuine, unburdened laughter for the first time in a decade.
