Disarm

Chapter 16: Wisemen Say...

**Jade**

"Oh, take my hand

Take my whole life too

For I can't help

Falling in love with you

Oh, for I, can't help

Falling in love with you.." I sing softly as I kiss a half-sleeping Chase's temple before laying him down in his crib and exiting his nursery quietly.

"So, you have a voice like that and I've been singing to him?" Billie asks leaning against the opposite wall smirking.

"You're a professional... I'm a novice at best." I say shaking my head.

"Novice my ass, you're on night-time concert duty."

"I never asked you to sing him to sleep." I say walking into the kitchen to turn the lights out.

"Ahaha. Yeah, you did, 'Billie would you mind singing him to sleep for me?'" Billie says in a mocking tone as she leans over the island.

"That was one time and in my defense, he wanted nothing to do with me..."

"You're sure you want to do this honey?" Aunt Sherri asks as I look over Chase's adoption papers again.

"Yeah." I say adjusting my glasses and take a sip of my coffee. I've looked over this paperwork for the past week, paperwork I've lost sleep over, paperwork that is going to change my life, paperwork that will change Chase's already altered life, though he doesn't know it. Paperwork I'm still doubting. "Aunt Sherri?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this the right decision?"

"Oh, sweetie I can't tell you if this is the right decision or not. What is your gut telling you?"

I sigh and push my hair off my face, "I don't know... this paperwork means I'm going to be his mom... legally... and..."

"Honey, you became his 'mom' the moment you walked in the door after Daphne's passing... you may not be his biological mother, but you're his mom."

I nod and begin the tedious process of filling out the adoption paperwork.

"'Do I want the birth record changed based on the adoption decree?' What does that mean?" I ask Lydia as I look over the paperwork for the first time.

"It means his birth certificate will show you as his mother, not Daphne." She says looking at me over the rim of her glasses. "It'll also mean if you want to change his name, you can."

"So, he would go from Chase Elliot Williams to Chase Elliot Holland?"

"And his amended birth certificate will show you as his birth mother. His original certificate will be sealed. You'll have the option to tell him he's adopted when he's older or not."

I nod as I look over the paperwork again, is this really what I want? To adopt Chase legally.

"So... he'd only know me as his mother?" I can feel my pulse in my throat as I ask Lydia.

"That's correct... until you make the decision to tell him he's adopted... or not, there's really no right or wrong answer here, Jade."

"Right."