***COMPLETED *** Endlessly [A G-Eazy Story, Third Book to If I'm Lucky]

Chapter 37: "It must feel amazing."

*** Kaitlyn's POV ***

The day that I had been dreaming of since we signed papers to officially start fostering Rowan had finally come - we were officially adopting him.

Grady's parents were there, my mom, of course, was a no show, Gerald and Rachel were there, and they even brought Rosie. She looked like a little princess in her white dress.

Rowan was running around the courtroom in his little khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. He was playing tag with Grady, and every time he laughed, my heart swelled a little more.

"I'm so happy for you," Rachel sniffled as she hugged me tightly. "You've been waiting for this day for so long, and now it's finally here."

"Thank you," I smiled with a chuckle as I wiped her eyes. "Thank you for being here. It means the world to us."

A female judge came into the room and took the stand - she looked to be in her early 30's. Her smile was bright, and her laugh was bubbly.

"Hello, everybody!" She smiled as she sat down at her chair with a file of papers. "Today we are here to finalize the adoption of Mr. Rowan Anderson, is that correct?"

"Yes!" Grady said out loud after he caught Rowan while he was running around his legs. "Yes, your honor."

"Energetic little guy, huh?" She laughed as she smiled at Sarah, our caseworker when she walked into the room. "Let's get started. All of the paperwork has been filed, so this shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes."

Everyone took their seats, and Rowan sat in between Grady and me, fidgeting and climbing in and out of my lap. He couldn't stay still for very long or he got bored.

"Mr. and Mrs. Brannan," Judge Andrea smiled up at us as we both looked at her. "Tell me your plan for Rowan as he grows up."

I cleared my throat and stood up, smoothing out my dress as I folded my hands in front of me.

"We plan to give him a home that's full of so much love," I answered honestly. "Hopefully down the road, we'll adopt more children so he can be apart of a big family. We're already surrounded by amazing friends, so we're doing whatever it takes to keep him happy."

Judge Andrea smiled with a head nod as she looked down at her papers.

"Well, I see that he's a bright and happy little boy, you both seem to be doing a fine job," She grinned. "Now, you both understand that this adoption is permanent, correct? Rowan will be living with you for the rest of his life."

Grady and I both looked at each other with a smile as we both turned back and answered the judge. I felt the all too familiar lump in my throat, but they weren't sad tears. They were happy ones.

"Rowan," Andrea smiled with a laugh as he quickly turned his head to look up at her. "Do you want the same last name as mommy and daddy?"

"Momma!" Rowan beamed as he wrapped his arms around my legs tightly. "Daddy!" He giggled as he pointed over at him.

"I will definitely take that as a yes," She said as the entire room laughed. "Do you want to live with mommy and daddy forever."

"Yeah!" Rowan yelled, keeping his hold on my legs as I bent down and stroked his head. "Mommy and daddy."

Andrea laughed as she looked down at the file in front of her. She flipped through some more of the papers and paused, taking a couple of seconds to sign them.

"Well, then," She grinned. "That concludes this adoption hearing. Mr. and Mrs. Brannan, congratulations, Rowan Michael Brannan is now officially apart of your loving family."

Grady stood up and immediately took me into his arms as I started crying. I bent down to pick up Rowan, and we stood there wrapped in each other's arms. Rowan didn't understand what was going on, but he knew it was a good thing.

Sarah came over to give us a big congratulations and took our first official picture as a family. Grady's parents came over, giving us tons of hugs and well wishes, stopping to take photos.

Gerald came over after the crowd of people faded out, and I heard both of them sniffling as they engulfed each other in a tight hug. Rachel came over to me, and we did the same, carefully as she held Rosie.

"Congratulations, Kaitlyn," She smiled as she pulled away. "It must feel amazing."

"It feels like a huge boulder has been lifted off my shoulders," I smiled as I squeezed Rosie's little hand when she smiled at me. "I knew we were going to get approved for the adoption, but a part of me couldn't help but worry that we wouldn't be able to. But we did, and now those worries are behind me."

"Baby!" Rowan smiled as he pointed up at Rosie. "Ro baby."

"Yeah, buddy!" I smiled as I picked him up. "That's Rosie, and she's a baby."

"You're bigger than her right now, but in just a few months, she'll be walking and talking, too," Rachel explained with a smile as Rowan reached out and touched her arm. "She'll be able to play with you, too."

"Pway?" Rowan smiled with a laugh as he clapped his hands before laying his head on my shoulder. "Pway."

We were eventually asked to leave the room because another couple would be coming in soon, so we moved the party outside and eventually went somewhere to eat. Hours later, we returned home and put Rowan in his crib because he crashed in his car seat.

"He's ours. Forever," Grady smiled as he undressed out of his slacks and shirt. "I'm so happy this day finally came."

"Agreed," I sighed after laying down in bed after I put my sweatpants on. "Now I don't have to worry about us not being approved."

We laid there in silence for a couple of minutes as Grady held me against his chest. I couldn't resist falling asleep - it had been such a long day.

A long day. But a good day.