Archive of Our Own ^beta

She was determined to find a family for these kids. She had to. The boys had been through seven families in the last two years. They deserved better than that. She glanced at the door leading to the room where the boys were currently sleeping as it was still fairly early in the morning on a Saturday, taking another look through some phone numbers. She straightened up as a family caught her eye, dialing carefully.

"Molina residence. Ray speaking." A chipper voice said.

"Hi, Ray. This is Tasha from DCFS. I'm in the process of trying to find a family for these two kids and I see in your file, you're willing to take siblings. Is that right?" Tasha asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Ray confirmed happily.

"Ok, great! I just wanted to see if you would be interested in taking in two boys." Tasha smiled, running a hand through her pixie cut. "They are, ahh, a tricky placement."

"Alright." There was a slight noise as Ray slid his chair out and sat down. "Tell me about them."

"Um, it's an adoptive placement. Parental rights terminated almost two years ago. A sixteen year old, Reggie, and a thirteen year old, Stevie. Reggie has ADHD and Stevie has anxiety and selective mutism." She listed off, having learned the facts a year ago. "Their last family reported that Reggie can be quite loud and rebellious and Stevie has made a habit of midnight snacking and the one before that reported them both being very attached to each other." She warned him.

"Oh, I know what a teenager with ADHD is like. My daughter has it, too, and her boyfriend is the same way." Ray chuckled, waving it off. "Nothing I can't handle. And what about the boys' school situation?"

"The boys have a shared interest in music and have expressed that they would love to go to Los Feliz High." Tasha answered. "My understanding is they have to audition to be enrolled there."

"Yeah, that's right. I can arrange that." Ray assured her. "Do you happen to know if either of them have any allergies?" He asked.

"Oh, yes! Reggie is allergic to bee stings and Stevie is allergic to strawberries and pears."

"Alright. And would the boys be coming today?"

"Yes, sir." Tasha confirmed. "Is... This a yes?" She asked cautiously, careful not to celebrate early.

"This is a yes, ma'am. I'll take the boys." Ray grinned.

"Ok, great! Um, I'll get the boys to your home soon. In about two and a half hours."

"Alright. Thank you, Tasha."

Tasha grinned as she hung up the phone, silently rejoicing for a moment before she stood and walked toward the slightly creaky dark wooden door, pushing it open slowly to reveal two boys curled up in an army green colored cot bed with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles blanket. "Reggie. Hey, wake up, buddy." She whispered, gently shaking the boy.

"Hmm? Wha?" Reggie snorted, wiping drool from his chin. "Oh, hey, Tasha." He smiled tiredly. "Something happen?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"I found you a family." Tasha answered triumphantly but quietly, a grin on her face.

"Woah, what?" Reggie blinked, shaking his head to wake up faster.

"I made a couple of calls and a nice man named Ray Molina's agreed to take you in. Both of you." She clarified as Reggie paled slightly, terrified of the prospect of being separated from his little brother and best friend. "He's says he's happy to take you both today. He's got a daughter and a son a little younger than you and he says he'll arrange for you both to audition for the school you want."

Reggie felt a grin form on his face as he looked down and started to shake Stevie awake gently, patting his shoulder. "Stevie. Hey, buddy."

Stevie groaned as he was shaken awake, yawning softly. "Is the sky awake or is your head just buzzy today?" He joked, still snuggling into his blanket, one of the few things he chose to put in his backpack the day he was taken from his birth parents.

"Both, Donatello." Reggie smirked, gently smacking his shoulder.

Tasha chuckled at the sight and rolled her eyes fondly, adjusting the grey jacket over her shoulders.

"Tasha says someone wants to foster us." Reggie told Stevie, making him bolt up like a pop-tart coming out of a toaster.

"What?" Stevie grinned, suddenly wide awake. "You found a family?" He asked her when he noticed the woman standing there. Him verbally speaking to Tasha was a fairly recent development, having only begun seven months ago.

"Yeah. Took a lot of calls, but I found someone. He sounded like a sweetheart on the phone. I think you guys will like him and his kids." She told them, grabbing the doorknob. "I'll let you two get dressed and then you'll get some Wendy's for breakfast on the way to his place, ok?"

"Ok, Tash." Reggie grinned as he and Stevie grabbed their backpacks and pulled out random clothes to change into, pulling on old sneakers that as much as they were falling apart, the boys loved dearly. He pulled on a denim jacket a previous family had bought for a kid and let him keep, helping Stevie comb through his hair once he was dressed. "There we go."

Stevie smiled and pulled the door open, backpack slung over his left shoulder as Reggie shut the door behind them for what the three of them hoped was the last time, walking out to Tasha's car. The trio got their Wendy's breakfasts and ate excitedly on the way to the Molina household, talking about what they thought living with Ray would be like.

"You think he'll let us stay up late on weekends?" Stevie asked, biting into his chicken croissant.

"Oh, no way. He might be nice, but he'll probably be super strict about rules." Reggie snorted, popping a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Which is exactly what boys like you need, Reggie." Tasha reminded him gently. "Did you remember to take your pill?"

"I'll take it when I'm done eating." Reggie said simply and Tasha shrugged, satisfied with that. She'd learned over the years it was smart to pick your battles with teenagers than to insist it was your way or the highway.

"So this guy married or single?" Stevie asked curiously, sipping his orange juice.

"His file said widowed." Tasha answered, sipping her iced coffee.

"Oh, yikes. That's sad." Stevie winced.

"Might not wanna bring that up when we meet him." Reggie winced as well, biting into a hash brown.

"Yeah, I wouldn't." Tasha grimaced, making a "cut it out" motion with her hand. "We're nearly there, by the way. It's the one night there." She pointed toward a pretty blue house with big, white window frames.

"Wow." Reggie breathed out as he saw the house and took it all in.

"Is Mr. Ray rich or something?" Stevie asked in disbelief that this was going to be his house for a while. This was one of the nicest places he'd ever seen!

"He's a photographer. Those guys make a lot of money." Tasha said.

"Woooaaaahhh..." Stevie stared at the house in a trance as they approached, the car coming to a stop in the drive way.

"Remember, boys. Be nice to him and his kids. You're gonna be going to school with them soon."

"We know, Tasha." Reggie chuckled.

"That means follow his rules and at least try to keep the sneaking out to a minimum, kid." Tasha gave him a look with no real heat behind it, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Yes, ma'am." The boys said in unison and Reggie grinned and unbuckled his seat belt, grabbing Stevie's hand. "You ready for our next adventure, little brother?"

"Ready, Reggie!" Stevie nodded and they all climbed out of the car, taking deep breaths before walking to the door.