-Dr. M.'s POV-

The man handed me the files. You'd think working at an orphanage would corrupt your personality, you'd get fed up and hate children, but this man regardless of his age was still as lovely as ever.

"Alright," he said in a calm, organised tone "here are the files of all the four year old males in our care"

"Thank you" I said to the tubby man as he handed me the files. There were only a few, maybe five or six, but he insisted I take them home. As I searched through the pile I saw some glimpses of various children's descriptions, none of them seemed to be too bad.
I smiled kindly at the tubby man as I exited his office.

"Mummy, Mummy!" Max pounced on me. Max was my three year old daughter; I was here because of her. "Did you get me a brother yet?"

Max was unlike any other girl, especially her sister Ella. It was almost as if they weren't related. Ella was older than Max by a year, but she was shy, innocent and so angelic. Max however, was stubborn, boyish, jumpy and strong-headed. She had a sister yet she wanted a brother. I couldn't have any more children and so Max forced me here. And to think she was only three, this girl got whatever she wanted, even if it meant doing it herself.

"No sweetie, I'm taking these papers home and I'll have to read over them."

Max pouted and folded her tiny arms in frustration. "I want a brother now."

I sighed. "Where's Ella?"

Max pointed to the far wall, where Ella had dragged over a chair and seated herself in the corner. That was just like Ella, always moving away from the crowds and the people. It was very unlike a four year old to be so reserved, but I didn't mind, she made friends easily and was quite sociable. It was Max I was worried about.

"Let's go Mummy! You too Ella, move your tooshy. The faster you read the faster I get a brother!" Max shouted from the car as she jumped in the backseat. Yep, it was definitely Max I was worried about.

I flicked on the lamp and spread the paper work out across the kitchen table.

Andrew, Ben, Peter, Nick and James.

On a separate piece of paper I wrote down the description of the four year old boy that I wanted. I wanted him to be friendly, not too shy like Ella or too head-strong like Max. I preferred him to be playful and lovable with friends and excepting of my girls. For some reason it made me uncomfortable to think of bringing a strange boy into my house with my girls so young...but they were only four, the worst that could happen would be a fight over a teddy bear.

I heard the soft tapping of bare feet on the upstairs floor boards. Turning around I saw my little Ella dragging her tiny feet across the floor and rubbing her tired eyes. "Mummy..." she mumbled with a pout on her too cute face. Slowly she walked down the stairs and crawled into my lap. I brushed aside her brown hair and kissed her forehead. She smiled as she rested her head against my chest and looked at the files. "Which one is my brother?" she asked slowly.

"I have to read them first" I said to her.

"Can I help?" she asked with a brilliant smile on her face. She leaned over the papers and immediately pointed to James. "This one." She said triumphantly. He had blonde hair and hazel eyes. His description said he was partially blind, but he was a truthful boy and had a very unique personality. Always helpful, especially in the kitchen and was a very generous child; sharing with his friends as much as possible.
And Ella couldn't even read. How had she picked such a remarkable person, much like herself?

"Why do you want him to be your brother?" I asked her. Her cheeks seemed to flush a shade of beautiful pink and she looked down at his picture again. "I think he's pretty" she whispered.

I laughed. She was four and was in love with an orphan she hasn't even met. I knew not to take this too seriously.

A thud came from upstairs and Ella and I spun around to see Max jumping two stairs at a time. She looked at me with a proud grin "I founded a way to get down faster" she said as she jumped the last two steps.

"You could hurt yourself, Max" I warned her in a maternal tone.

"No I won't. I don't get hurt."

"You're a liar" Ella chimed in

"No I'm not!"

"That's enough girls. Max, Ella picked a brother-"

"Without me?"

"I'm asking you to tell me your opinion" I said in an even tone. Max calmed down and pulled up a chair looking at the photos of all five boys. "I choosed this one" Ella said pointing to James. Max studied him. Taking in his hair, his eyes and his cute boyish smile.

"He's ok" she said "But I like this one" she pointed to a different boy. His hair was messy, it was black and swished in all directions, Nick's eyes were dark and intense for a small boy. His smile looked older for his age and was almost like that of a smirk, as if he was about to pull a practical joke on the photographer. I frowned as I read his description. Silent, likes to be left alone, when encountered finds ways to avoid conversation, he remains quiet in groups but always seems to be planning ahead. He seemed like a trouble maker.

"Are you sure, Max?"

"Yuh huh" she said with a confident smile.

Personally I believe Ella made a better decision. This boy didn't seem like the type I would want around my children as they grow up. Especially Max.

"Ok," I said rubbing my eyes "off to bed, both of you."

Ella and Max raced each other up the stairs as I looked over the files one more time. I was going to need to make the right decision for my girls when I bring this child home.

Nick and James walked in holding hands. Nick proceeded to open the door slowly as he took a little peek at us before opening the door further. Slowly he walked into the room with James clinging to his arm. Once in the room the two boys shrank up against the wall and stared at us with fear. The tubby man coughed nervously "James, this is Valencia Martinez. She wanted to meet you in person."

James slowly took a step forward still clinging onto Nicks arm; he hesitated then continued to walk slowly over to me.

"I thought I was just meeting James" I whispered to the tubby man.

"Well you see, James and Nick are very good friends. Almost brothers in fact, so wherever Nick goes, James follows, or vice versa"

"Oh, is it because he's..."

"No, No. It has nothing to do with his disability to see, they're just inseparable, I guess."

"Oh" this was going to be a problem then...

Nick slowly took a step towards me and gently pulled James along. James then moved in front of Nick and felt around for my hand. Once he found it he smiled and gave it a little squeeze. Nick watched, almost in fascination, at how James could take my hand and not flinch at the touch of it. Slowly Nick reached out and held my hand as well, he turned it this way and that, then, as if satisfied, looked up at me and gave me a toothy grin. My heart skipped at the sight of this, it was just so adorable.

"I think they like you" the tubby man said proudly "come boys, have a seat"

The two boys crawled up to the couch and sat there as the tubby man took his own seat and gestured for me to take the seat opposite the table. "So you've read the files?"

"Yes, I have. Nick's file wasn't as long as the others though"

"Oh yes. I'm sorry we gave you that, Nick is five you see, he was supposed to be in a different folder."

"Oh...well, I like them both, they seem very attached and I don't want to ruin that bond so..."
don't say it, maybe you'll regret it later...no, no I have to keep them together, splitting up children this young is wrong. I took a deep breath. "I would like to adopt them both please."

The tubby man seemed ecstatic "Oh! Well, that's wonderful! Marvellous!" He turned to the boys "Did you hear that? You're both off to a new home!"

The boys exchanged glances.

"Like...a mummy?" James said slowly

"Yes, yes. And two sisters, isn't it wonderful?"

"Yucky. Girls are yucky." Nick said frowning.

"No, they are very nice girls." The tubby man insisted

"What are their names?" James asked

"My eldest is Ella, she's four and the other is Max, she's three"

"Max is a boy's name" Nick said smiling brightly "I like it"

"What do they look like?" James asked

"What colour is my room?" Nick quickly interrupted

"Now, now boys, we have to get you settled in first" the tubby man turned to me "Are you ready?"

I smiled lovingly at the two little ragged looking boys that will soon be a part of my family. "I can't wait."