How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers' names.
Alice Walker
Chapter One:
The streets of New York were, as usual, insanely crowed and very busy. A red headed teenage girl was sprinting down them, trying hard not to bump into anyone while loaded with shopping bags. She failed almost immediately, dropping half of her things as she bumped into a man with curly black hair. He removed his arm around the shoulders of the woman next to him and knelt down to help the girl pick up her things.
"Thanks. Sorry for, you know, bumping into you. Just trying to get home. " she apologized.
"Oh, sweetie, that's fine." The woman said sympathetically.
"Here you go." He said, handling the girl a crumpled piece of paper and a shopping bag. "Would you point us in the direction of the adoption agency?"
"You saved my bags…it's down the street and to the right. Put in a good word for me, will you?"
"Sure, you're…"
"Becca Montgomery"
"Weiss. Nice to meet you. This is my wife Savannah."
Becca looked at the woman with a smile.
"It's very nice to meet you." She greeted politely, gesturing for savannah to shake her hand. She did, smiling back at her.
"Well, sorry, again, for running into you guys. Good luck with the adoption thing."
"Thank you. Maybe we'll see you again soon."
"Maybe" Becca replied with a tight smile. "Nice meeting you two."
She headed back down the street her red hair bouncing along with her. Savannah watched where she had walked away even after Becca had disappeared from view.
"Does she remind you of anyone?" she asked Weiss, confused.
"No, not really." Weiss said casually. "And we should probably go; we have an appointment in ten minutes."
Savannah sighed, still preoccupied over the girl and her similarities to her best friend.
Savannah feigned interest in the other children's various biographies, thinking only of the mysterious red-haired teenager. Eventually, when Weiss finally noticed her short, disinterested answers to the woman's questions, he interrupted the exchanges.
"Can we have a minute?" he requested.
The woman nodded with a sunny smile that Savannah was beginning to find annoying.
"Of course" she left the room, leaving Weiss and Savannah alone.
"Sav, you do still want to do this, don't you?" he asked gently.
"Yeah, I just…didn't that girl remind you of someone?"
"You mean Becca?" Savannah nodded. "She had red hair, I guess like Addison. That's all. You've probably been just too preoccupied because they're in a pretty bad spot. Addy and Derek will make it through, they always do."
"Can we see her bio, at least?" Savannah begged. "I don't know what it is, there's just something about her…"
"We can ask for it, if you promise to be a little bit interested in other people too."
Savannah nodded, grinning "I promise."
"Okay, then." Weiss agreed. The woman running the agency reentered the room, still sporting the sunny smile.
"Um, we ran into a girl on the way here that kind of hinted at her being up for adoption." Savannah mentioned cautiously.
"What's her name?" the woman questioned.
"Becca Montgomery"
The woman's smile dimmed slightly. "Ah yes. Becca."
"Is there something wrong with her?" Weiss asked curiously.
"Oh, no! Becca's very sweet, she's a great kid. Her story's sad, very sad. Her parents gave her up when she was, I don't know, maybe six months old, they had meant to come back for her, but she's been in and out of foster homes for maybe 13 and half years. A permanent home would be great for her."
Weiss shook his head, almost marveling at his wife's ability to find anyone that needed help anywhere.
"I can give you the address of her foster home. It would be great if you two could adopt her."
"Weiss?" Savannah asked, pleadingly.
"Okay, give us the address." He agreed. It was worth talking to an unfamiliar teenager just to see that magical smile light up his wife's face.
When they had returned to their apartment, Weiss headed for the shower, and Savannah headed for her phone. She dialed Addison's number with a smile blooming on her face, and Derek's voice immediately filled her apartment.
"You've reached Addison Shepard. Don't tell her I changed her voicemail or she'll kill me. BEEP…"
"Hey, Addy, It's Sav. I'm adopting! Or, we're adopting. It's this really sweet teenager; she looks just like you…. Anyway, I'll tell you more when you call back and we go to her foster home. Hope you and Derek are doing well, give him my love. Talk to you soon."
A few days later, Savannah and Weiss were on their way to Becca's foster home. They knocked on the door and a frazzled-looking woman opened it.
"Yes?" she asked impatiently.
"Hi, I'm Savannah and this is my husband Weiss and we're here about adopting Becca Montgomery?"
The woman's eyes widened. "Oh. Sure, come in."
Savannah and Weiss followed her into the apartment, sitting down on the couch the woman gestured toward.
"I'm afraid you come at a bit of a bad time." The woman stated, wring her hands.
"We can come back, if you need us to." Weiss offered.
"No, no, you misunderstand me. Becca ran away yesterday afternoon." The woman admitted.
"Ran away?" Savannah repeated. She looked around, expecting to see police, missing posters, milk cartons, something to show that a child had disappeared from this place. "You haven't done anything! Couldn't you at least call the police or something? Do you know how she's getting around? This is New York, she could be killed!"
"There's no point in calling the police." The woman sighed. "We know exactly where she went."
"Where?"
The woman sighed again, glancing at the floor. "She went to find her birth parents. Or parent, I'm not really sure about that part. Anyway, we know almost for a fact that she went to Seattle.
Savannah shook her head. "I sure hope she's okay. We were in Seattle recently, it's very rainy. Not a very good vacation spot, but they have a great hospital there. So at least she won't get hurt once she gets there."
Weiss stood up slowly. "We should go then."
Savannah nodded, following her husband out the door.
"Good luck with the adoption. Yours probably won't run away right before the holidays." The woman said bitterly.
Savannah opened her mouth to reply, but Weiss tightened his grip on her shoulder, and she closed it again, heading out the door with a sigh.
A/N: I know the first chapter kind of sucks. But it gets better. Seriously. Please review, comment are appreciated!