A One For All Holiday - Attachment to All For One (Complete)

Part Twenty-Eight

Oh. My. God. It was all that I could think as the helicopter touched down on the ground behind a gorgeous two-storey mansion. It reminded me of those traditional white ones that had taken its inspiration from the White House.

The blades slowed and Sean reached across to pull the headphones off and unstrap me so that I could lean forward and wait for the door to be opened by the pilot.

It had been a thrilling ride with Sean laughing as I tried my best not to crush his hand in a mixture of excitement and fear; but it seemed to have been over too quickly as the pilot announced that we were approaching our destination and were about to begin our descent.

I kept my head ducked down in reaction to the thought of the deadly blades so close to the top of my head and ran forward quickly.

I panted out a short breath and turned to my date for the afternoon, “So what are we doing here?”

He waved an arm dramatically, “Welcome to Babyland General Hospital, Pookie. Inside those walls are sad and innocent little cabbage patch dolls in need of a happy and permanent home.” He beamed as my confused expression cleared, “We’re here to adopt a baby.”

I began to laugh in delight as I grabbed his hand, waved at the pilot and dragged him across the immaculately kept grass that I assumed was a part of the house’s estate.

“Slow down, Pookie,” Sean griped happily. He had seemed surprised when my delight shone so violently through but else was I to do when I realised that this wonderful guy had organised a helicopter flight just so that we could pick out my first ever doll.

The main back stood open with a lady standing in the doorway with a huge smile, “Welcome to Cabbage Patch heaven. You must be Sang and Sean, yes?”

Sean sent her his trademark flirtatious wink, “I hope that you weren’t someone else to touchdown in a helicopter.”

She laughed, “No, it’s not something that happens every day around here. My name is Greta and I’ll be happy to show you around if you’d like.”

I nodded and squeezed Sean’s hand tighter, “That would be amazing. I’m so excited to be able to see this.”

Greta beamed, “We’re always happy to see new and happy faces around here. It’s what we live for.”

“Pookie here needs to find herself a baby to take home,” Sean announced straight faced as I glanced at Greta and joined her in laughter. I could only imagine the others expressions when we arrived home to announce that we had been baby shopping the North Georgia Mountains.

Greta waved us further into the house, “I’ll give you the grand tour and then you’ll be able to have a closer look around at all the beautiful bubs we have waiting.”

It took the woman about half an hour to show us all the hidden nooks where Cabbage Patch dolls had been placed. Since both Sean and I were delighted with how fantastic the setup of the hospital wards were, I knew that the children wondering around were beyond amazed with the facility.

“This is so amazing and some of the dolls are beyond amazing,” I commented to Sean as we peeked into some of the baby beds that had been displayed to resemble a nursery.

Greta smiled softly and walked towards one of the connecting doors, “I’ll leave you to it now. Just flag down someone once you’ve decided.”

“If going through an actual adoption is as intense as this, I never want to do it,” he murmured, stopping to peek into a basinet with an ‘aw’ expression on his face.

I stuttered over his words for a moment but quickly tossed them aside as one of those strange things people come out with.

“Have you found one yet, Pookie?” Sean asked, stepping up behind me to wrap his arms tightly around my waist and rest his chin on my head as we both gazed down at a female doll with blue eyes and black woollen hair.

“I’m not really sure,” I answered, shuffling to the next bed without displacing him.

I knew that we were on a schedule but I didn’t want to rush in my decision since I knew that this would be something that I treasured for the rest of my life. The cost of the doll was also a consideration since I had peeked at the information desk when Sean had been busy talking to one of the ‘doctors’ on staff for the day. I knew that he would insist on buying one for me and I didn’t to feel like it was a waste afterwards.

One pink bassinette stood tucked into the corner and I bent over to get a closer look at the delicate features of the doll. Her appearance captured my attention and I felt my heart catch when I took in her grey-coloured eyes and brown hair. She may not be a real baby; may not even begin to resemble a real child but when I looked at her I found myself thinking about Mr Blackbourne. Those eyes had been painted to match the exact colour of his and I wanted her.

I ran a gently finger down the front of her little pink dress and whispered to Sean over my shoulder, “This one.”

“Ok, I like her. I’ll go flag down someone to help us start the adoption process while you think of a name.” He hugged me tighter for a second before he exited the room.

I didn’t want to pick up the doll before I made sure it was allowed but as I gazed down, I struggled to find a name that fit the meaning that I was giving her. Others may see this as a silly teenage girl fawning over a doll but she was a symbol for me; for my new life with the guys who had saved me and given me an honest chance at a future.

They had given me life and I wanted for this gift from my darling doctor to truly mean something.

“A gorgeous choice,” Greta’s voice sounded from behind me and I turned to find her standing next to a smiling Sean as they filled in the paperwork that came with purchasing one of the dolls.

She looked over at me, “What name am I writing down?”

I shot a look at Sean before looking down at the little face once more, “Anastascia.”

“That sounds like a perfect name, Pookie. Do you know what it means?”

I smiled slightly, “Rebirth.”

“And resurrection, I believe.” Greta added.

I nodded. I was always going to look at her and remember how blessed I had been in my new life.