“You can kill each other all you want but if you touch my little boy, you beggin’ for this bullet will be the last thing that you say, before I let my dark side come out to play…”


“Mr. Scandella, your profession has you quite unstable, doesn’t it?” The social worker sat with her legs crossed, silently judging them from the other side of the table.

Marie flicked her eyes over to Marco, and then back at the woman. She gulped down intense nerves at where this was headed. For the past hour, she’d been grilling them relentlessly, asking why they’d want to adopt an infant when they’d just had one. Nothing was off limits to this woman. She wanted to know every little detail about them. And in turn, she passed judgment on whether or not they could care for and raise a child that had already been abandoned.

Marco cleared his throat and clenched his hand into a fist as it rested on his leg. Marie knew that the social worker was really starting to irk him. Since the Avalanche had gotten eliminated from playoffs, Marco got to spend unlimited time being a father. And playing that role made him realize that he wanted 26984 just as much as he wanted Sofia and Ryker. Marie grabbed at Marco’s hand to try and calm him so he could answer her ridiculous question.

“I’m not sure I understand…”

“You’re never home,” she interrupted.

Marie could’ve leapt across the table right then and there, but now it was Marco who was squeezing her hand to get her to calm down. “From October to early April, yes I’m on the road a lot, but that doesn’t make me less of a father. Miss Johnson, if you consider my providing for my family as unstable, I’m afraid the state and I have a difference of opinion on what that word means.”

“You providing for your family is not what we at the state are concerned about. A boy who has been released to the state by his birth parents, desperately needs stability; a family that won’t be moving, both parents being present… things of that nature.”

“So you at the state,” Marco was starting to get a tad accusational, “believe that sending a boy through several abusive foster homes is more stable than a single family that will show him unconditional love, just because the abusive parents are always around?”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” the social worker protested vehemently.

Marie punched Marco in the leg subtly. “I believe what my husband is trying to say is that while he may be on and off the road for a majority of the year, we’re still a very functional and supportive family…”

“No,” Marco interrupted. He stood up from the kitchen table, “what I’m saying is you’re going to send that boy to be raped and molested just because I’m on the road for probably three months out of the entire year.”

“Not all foster parents abuse their children, Mr. Scandella. In fact, I could tell you many of them don’t.” Miss Johnson raised her voice to match Marco’s, and Marie felt their chances of getting 26984 were diminishing.

“I know that, but you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me he won’t be sent to foster parents who do.” Marco glared at her and folded his arms over his chest, “if anyone lays a hand on that little boy, so help me God…”

“Marco!”

The muscles in his jaw clenched and he stormed out of the room. Marie cupped her hand over her mouth and sighed as the social worker gathered her papers and stood up, ready to leave.

“Miss Johnson, I apologize for my husband’s outburst,” Marie followed her to the front door. “I hope you see us as serious candidates for adoption because we really want to include that baby in our family,”

“Your husband is a loose cannon,” she muttered, turning her back on Marie.

Marie ran out of the house and intercepted her on the way to her car. “He’s not. Marco is so gentle, the best man anyone could ever ask for as a friend, husband, and father.” She paused, thinking pity might be the only thing to save their chances now. “You see, my own father was not very good to me, and Marco has seen that abuse firsthand. And I think it just scares him that a little, precious, innocent baby could suffer the same fate. Marco is a wonderful and honest father and I so badly hope that you can see that. How many men are so protective over a child that isn’t even legally his yet?” She paused again, seeing the social worker’s eyes lighten, “Not many… even I can tell you that,”

She left in her oversized Cadillac, and Marie wanted to curl over and throw up on the front lawn. Every night her heart broke a little more for the boy that no one seemed to love.

Back in the house, Marie couldn’t find Marco. She searched each of the rooms, growing more nervous as each room she checked was empty, until she came to the nursery. There he was, moving back and forth in the rocking chair, with Ryker sleeping on his chest.

Marco looked up as the door creaked open and Marie slid in. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked more than perturbed. So he had stepped a touch out of line. “I’m sorry for exploding, but that bitch…”

“Marco, don’t call her that. That’s not behavior I want our son to pick up on. She was doing her job. She came over here to see if she could rile you up, and she did.”

He shook his head, “if you told me two months ago that it was possible to love a child that wasn’t mine this much, I would’ve called you nuts… insane… It’s bad, Marie. I’ve already given him a name and he’s not even my son. If the state decides to go a different way, it’s going to be like losing one of our own.”

Marie picked up a stuffed Saint Bernard. She couldn’t even look at Marco as she asked, “what’d you name him?”

The rocking stopped, and that’s when Marie looked up. Marco was setting Ryker back in his crib, ready to make his way back to her. He grabbed the stuffed animal from her hands and tossed it back onto its shelf. With his hands clutched on her waist, Marco pressed his lips to her forehead and sighed, “Gabriel James.”

She cupped her hands over his cheeks and kissed his lips gently, “it is going to be like losing one of our own.”

“We’re totally screwed,”

That night Marie went to bed with enough anxiety to choke a horse. Marco was still up, trying to get Ryker to go down, when she retired. Sometime around two, the crying stopped. With the close proximity of the nursery to the master bedroom, the noise had kept her up. Finally she’d be able to get some rest and put this horrid day behind her.

Marco sighed heavily and flopped down in bed, not totally surprised by the fact that Marie was still up. Neither of them had gotten much sleep since Ryker had been home. He curled over and wrapped his arm over Marie’s waist, pressing his lips to her shoulder blade. Marie set her hand on top of his and danced her fingers over his arm, gently.

“We did all we could,” she whispered. “We put ourselves out there to help make some child’s life a little bit better, and now it’s in someone else’s hands. They’re going to decide what’s right for him, and if we’re not it… We did all we could.”

He sighed again and moved his lips to her neck. A year ago they wouldn’t have imagined taking care of two infants at the same time, and now they couldn’t imagine not doing it.

---

There were big summer plans this year, a lot of moving around until August when they’d have to settle back in Denver to prepare for the new season. They’d visit St. Paul and check on the shop for a couple weeks before heading up to Montreal. The majority of the summer would be spent there, where Marco planned on buying a new townhouse for them to live in during their free time. Marco had a boys trip planned to Mexico, and Marie would use that time to visit Connecticut, so her mom could meet her new grandson.

But before any of that happened, they had to hear back from the state about their status as potential adoptive parents. It had been a few days since the in house interview and blow up. Marie felt that if any more time passed without notification, they could pretty much say goodbye to that little boy.

In the effort of not letting that ruin their entire life, Marie, Marco, Sofia, and Ryker went out as a family of four for the first time. It was only lunch and Ryker slept through the entire thing, but it was a relief to get out from the four walls of their house. Marco and Marie agreed to not talk about the adoption while they were out. Today was for Sofia, to show her that through all of this, she wasn’t being forgotten.

They ended up having a great time and for a moment it felt like nothing was wrong. But then they got home, and Marco took both children upstairs to put them to sleep for their afternoon naps. Marie however walked into the kitchen, saw the message machine light was blinking red, and pressed the button without a second thought.

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Scandella, this is Abigail Johnson…”

“Marco!” Marie yelled, momentarily missing the rest of the social worker’s greeting.

“After reviewing your application with my colleagues, and taking your in-house interview into account…”

Marie burst out in tears for no reason at all; just started spurting out tears as the message played on. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The message machine clicked off and Marie cupped her hands over her mouth just as Marco was rushing into the kitchen.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Marco grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. He stroked her head and tried to calm her down, getting the sense that this had all to do with the adoption, and that it hadn’t gone their way.

Marie looked up at him and clutched for his t-shirt, “we got him.” She choked on her own breath and fanned her hand in front of her face to stop the tears. Marco stood there as if nothing had resonated for him yet. “We got Gabriel,”

Now his eyes welled up and he cupped Marie’s face in his hands. They held onto each other tightly, and Marie finally leaned up to kiss his lips. Marco sniffled out a laugh and shook his head in disbelief, resting his forehead against Marie’s.

“We can pick him up tonight, so we need to get a crib, some clothes, and some more toys for him.” Marie wiped her thumb across Marco’s bottom lip as some of her lipstick had transferred to him. “I’ll accessorize, and you pick him up?”

Marco nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead, “I love you, pretty mama.” He stroked her hair and rocked side to side with her, “I want to make love to you tonight.”

“Can’t wait,”

She pecked his lips and went off. There was a crib to get and assemble, along with a slew of things Gabriel would need. With Ryker, they had months to gather what he needed, along with the things Sofia already had. But now, they were getting a second infant, which meant double of everything; double the amount of clothes, double the amount of toys, diapers, and food.

While she went out of the day, Marco could handle Sofia and Ryker. Even if they woke up at the same time, he was capable enough of handling them both. Marie couldn’t take the smile off her face. With every new item she bought, she knew they were that much closer to bringing Gabriel home and giving him the home he needed and deserved.

It was a weird feeling and concept to love a child that wasn’t biologically hers. Sofia and Ryker obviously held a special place in her heart, and always would, but Gabriel’s geneology didn’t make her love him any less. She felt totally capable of loving him just as much as she loved Sof and Ry. And more than that, she knew Marco could do that too.

When evening rolled around, texts from Marco got more and more frequent. The kids were up, Sofia was asking where Marie was, Ryker was fussy, and Marco needed to get to the hospital to pick up Gabriel. Marie knew this point would come, where she’d have to forego everything else she wanted to buy. Truth was, she bought more than enough, but it still felt inadequate to a certain degree. Also, she needed to give Marco some time to assemble the crib before he left to pick up the baby.

With a trunk full of everything baby related, she got home around seven. She brought in most of the bags, and came to relieve Marco of his duties. It warmed her heart to see him on the floor with Ryker in his lap, and Sofia across from him. They were playing Pretty, Pretty Princess, and Marco was decked out with plastic rings, necklaces, and clip-on earrings. The rules of the game were not abided by to any degree as Sof was still too young to fully grasp them, but she enjoyed handing pieces of fake jewelry to her dad. And ever the attentive and doting father, he was eager to put them on to make her smile.

“Papà! Bella!”

Marco smiled and set the plastic crown on top of his head, “lo sono bella?” Am I beautiful?

Sofia giggled and clapped her hands. She reached forward for the crown.

Marco set it on top of her head, readjusting it over and over again so it didn’t slip down to her eyes, “sei piu bella.” You’re more beautiful.

Sofia stood up and ran towards the full-length mirror that hung in their foyer. She stared at herself and smiled, enamored with her reflection. Marco stood up carefully, with Marie reaching to take Ryker out of his hands.

“Look at my sexy… man?” Marie mocked and fondled one of the clip-on earrings. “There’s a crib in the car; I’ll handle Ryker and Narcissus, over there.” They both looked back at Sofia, who was now talking in her gibberish to herself.

He smirked and pulled the earrings off his earlobes, “I’ll show you what kind of man I am tonight.” He planted a long, slow kiss on Marie’s lips, hearing giggles from Sofia.

She loved to see them being affectionate with each other, and that was something Marie knew she wanted her children to see. Not necessarily the gritty and dirty stuff, but Marie had grown up watching parents interact that didn’t seem to really care for each other. She couldn’t remember a time when her parents kissed. Marie wanted her kids to see what real love was, to know that two people could love each other so much that they needed to kiss and touch. It was however, necessary to censor what they witnessed. They would openly kiss and hold hands, hug, and maybe even massage each other’s backs and feet from time to time, but Marie also knew there were some things she didn’t want her kids to see. Ryker wasn’t the issue yet; it was mostly Sofia.

She was at an age now where she understood what she was seeing and would ask about it. Case and point, Sofia used to shower with Marco if Marie was unable to bathe her at the time. Whether she was out or on bed rest, Marco would shower with Sofia. But the night she pointed to his penis and asked what it was, he knew that phase was over. Some days Marco would come home after a skate while Marie and Sof were in the kitchen. And making sure they were hidden by countertops, he’d come up behind her and grind his hips into her ass, slipping his fingers around her waist and between her legs. That was obviously crossing a line that Sofia didn’t need to see.

So kissing, as long as it wasn’t making out, was totally acceptable, and Marie believed if anything, it would allow Sofia to grow up capable of having a loving relationship with someone.

Marco walked back into the house carrying the boxed crib over his shoulder and a tool belt over the other. He was shirtless, and Marie couldn’t help but admire his physique. The muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed and released as he balanced the oversized box on his shoulder. His chest and ab muscles tightened with each step.

“Keep it in your pants,” he grunted, pausing at the base of the stairs to gather himself momentarily.

“Oh Lord, that’s a sight for sore eyes.” She picked Sofia up in her free arm, ready to follow Marco up to the nursery, “bend over.”

He laughed at her and rolled his eyes, taking a deep breath before he ascended the stairs. Following close behind, Marie stared at his flexing back muscles and ass. When they did reach the nursery, Marco obeyed her wish and bent over, placing the box on the floor, and cut through the tape with the pocketknife on his keychain.

Once sitting, Sofia moved to the corner of the nursery and began playing with one of the toys perched up on a low shelf. Marie sat in the rocking chair, “watching you do this manual labor is turning me on.”

Marco chuckled and began taking the wooden pieces out of the box. “Is it,” he flexed his arms unnecessarily just to tease her. Having set up the same crib just a few months prior, he didn’t even look at the instructions.

As he placed two pieces together, he picked up his drill and assembled them together. Once the noise had died down, Marie smirked, “do that to me tonight.”

He flicked his eyes over to her at the idea, “drill you?” He blushed and put together the next piece.

“Drill me, nail me, screw me, all of the above.”

“Are people still saying nail?” He drilled another piece in place.

Marie shrugged and looked down at Ryker, running her thumb over his cheek. “God, I want you inside of me already,”

“Stop,” Marco moaned, elongating the word. “I have to finish putting this together and pick up our son before that happens. I do have a surprise for you though before I go,”

Marie lifted her eyebrows, excited by the idea of what he could’ve gotten for her. She was ready for tonight, not only to be able to get intimate with Marco, but to start their life as a family of five.

Notes

"Dark Side" by Eric Church.