The month recovering at my mom's house was honestly such a nice month of peace that I wish we could just move in permanently. I knew it would only be a temporary stay, but as the days went on and on, the thoughts of moving back here to North Carolina really started to stick. Getting to spend time with Dominic again had me feeling like a teenager. Also getting to know Dominic's girlfriend on a deeper level made me happy to know he found such a nice girl to call his own. Then there was also Mallory. As my recovery started to move along, we found ourselves getting close again. Partly because Kuzma and Logan became fast friends. There was a bit of a language barrier there at first, but as the days went along, Kuzma's English improved tenfold.

As for Mallory and myself, while the two kids would play, we would walk around the park. It was helpful for my stamina as we watched the kids from our lap and it also helped me start to decompress from being on guard 24/7. About half of the time, Morgan would join us on our walks, while other times, she would hang out with the kids or stay home to work a bit. She went to Fort Bragg and got a laptop so she could start to work on a few small things from home. Mallory and I started to rebuild our friendship as she told me all about things at work and how Troy and Shane were doing.

Then I think the best part of being back in North Carolina was just spending time with mom and Peyton. This was the first time in memory I just got to live at home with them again since I was signed up at seventeen. I really loved to just watch them be and love each other. The way mom would be waiting for Peyton some night when she got home from work late and just comfort her. Or on some nights when Mom would stay up late in her studio lost in a new commission and Peyton would have to come and coax her out of her studio to go bed. The looks of love past between them when they thought nobody was looking. The way they both fussed over Kuzma, Morgan and myself whenever we needed help with something. There was so much love present in the house now and it made it hard for me to want to leave this safe haven we found ourselves in.

But finally, as our month was up, I was moving around a lot better, Morgan's shoulder was mostly all healed and it was time to head back to Georgia for the formal adoption court date. Dominic was going to be making the drive with us to help move us back into our house. Mom and Peyton are going to be following him down in a few days to be there for our court date. It was going to be a bit of a rush to get everything done in time before we have to go to court though. So with a lot of hugs, we piled into the stuffed SUV Dominic rented to bring us back down, and we started to make the 7 hour drive.

Kuzma was a good sport and ended up sleeping for most of it. By the time we hit Augusta we were all over the drive so we stopped for lunch and to stretch out for a while before we hit the road again. When we finally pulled up to the house, it was like a sight for sore eyes. God, I missed being home. Morgan and I both agreed that we were going to let Kuzma pick which bedroom he wanted first and then move into the other one together.

Needless to say we were all a bit restless when we got out of the car and we told Dominic to leave everything in car while we went inside. Kuzma went right upstairs and looked at both of our bedrooms before picking mine and laying out face first onto the stale sheets. I couldn't help but chuckle at him before pulling his shoes off to let him rest for a while. Morgan was already in her room cracking open a window to let some fresh air inside as I took a seat on the bed.

We both quickly made the decision just to order pizza for dinner as it was easy and we don't have any fresh food in the house. That is the first thing on the list for us to do tomorrow before I go meet with my lawyer for the adoption hearing. From what mom and Peyton have already told me, the application was filed on my behalf while I was still overseas. They worked on getting all the paperwork together while meeting with lawyers here and in North Carolina to make sure we had all of our ducks in a row.

Now that we are home, we need to scrub the house clean and start to set up Kuzma's room because there will be a home inspection taking place some time before the hearing. Even though the department of child services did a home visit at my mom's house when Kuzma got there, they have to do another one here as this is where we will be living. So that means a very busy few days for us.

Dominic ordered the pizza and it didn't take long for it to arrive. After we finished it off, we all went outside to the truck and started to move bags and boxes inside. We at least wanted to move everything inside today. Tomorrow we will start unpacking everything and moving everything into the right rooms. While they boys were downstairs moving things around I went back into my room and started to collect any guns I have laying around. I have gun safes in both nightstands so I just emptied the smaller one for now. The other nightstand I'll have someone move it into our new room. The few pistols in the smaller safe I moved into the large gun safe in the garage. Morgan only has one small gun safe in her bedside table that won't fit any of mine in addition to hers. So once we finish moving things around, I'll install another gun safe in our room so I can carry something up here.

By the time we were finished moving boxes around, we were all over tired and moved on to our rooms for the night. Kuzma took a quick shower before I tucked him into what is now my old bed. He was barely down before he was asleep. I couldn't help but press a kiss to the crown of his head before leaving his room. I pressed my hand to the outside of the closed door before walking down the hall to what is now our room.

Morgan just finished up in the shower and was getting into bed when I shut the door behind me. I made sure I set an alarm for tomorrow morning before getting into bed next to her. Morgan curled up right into my arms and I couldn't help but smile into her hair.

"I love you" I said quietly already feeling the pull of sleep take me away.

"I love you to baby." Morgan answered and pressed a kiss to my collar bone.

The next morning came way to early for my liking but I knew I needed to get up and get moving. We had a lot to do today and that was going to start with a shower. I left Morgan sleeping in bed for the shower and when I was done I put on a loose bra and t-shirt with a pair of sweatpants. Being able to wear bra's again has been a new development. As long as they are loose, I've been able to wear them all day without having much pain.

When I got downstairs I started up the coffee maker and opened up the freezer to see if we had anything in her left over we could eat for breakfast. I was happy to find a box of Eggo waffles that aren't too old and popped two into the toaster before finishing off my coffee with some sugar as we have no milk. Just as I was about to sit down at the table and eat, I heard little steps come from the stairs and found Kuzma slowly walking into the kitchen.

I pushed the waffles in front of him with the syrup while I put another two waffles in the toaster. While they cooked, I grabbed him a bottle of water from the fridge to drink. After the second set of waffles were finished, I joined him at the table and we ate together quietly. One thing I have come to notice is that just like me, Kuzma likes quiet mornings. Whenever there is a lot of noise before he is really awake, he becomes more agitated and it sets him up to have a bad start to his day.

When we were finished with our waffles, I threw the paper plates in the garbage before I picked up my coffee mug and Kuzma's water. He watched me and I nodded towards the back door. Kuzma popped off his chair and went over to the door and opened it for me. Once we were both outside he closed the door behind me and we walked into the grass of the backyard before sitting down together.

Just like the night on the hill, Kuzma sat on my lap and I held onto him tightly. Together we just watched the sun start to rise more in the sky as the day started to take shape around us. After I finished my coffee I put my mug in the grass and ran my hand up and down on his back to get his attention. When Kuzma's brown eyes found mine, I gave him a smile.

"There is something I have been wanting to talk to you about." I said. Over the course of the month at home with my moms, Kuzma's English has really improved along with all of our Ukrainian which is why I was comfortable finally having this conversation one on one with him now.

"You remember the night we met right?" I started. Even though I really didn't want to start here, I thought this would be the easiest place to start the conversation.

"You and Morgan pulled me out of my home. The night my parents died. I didn't want to leave you after it happened." Kuzma said not looking at me as his eyes started to water.

"Trust me, I didn't want to leave you either bud, but I had to finish my job. But I wanted to talk to you about what is going to happen in the next few days. While I went to finish my job, Shannon, Peyton and my friend Annabelle, were able to get documentation to bring you here so we could be together again. After I got hurt, things got a bit easier as we had some help from some very important people." I said pausing to make sure Kuzma was still with me. When he looked at me I knew he was still paying attention and didn't have any questions yet, so I continued on.

"So, at the end of the week, we have a court date to make it official, so you can stay with me. At the court hearing, people might call me your mom but you and I both know that you already have a mom. One that I want you to continue to tell me about. I want to know all about your parents. I want to learn about all the traditions you had together and I want to help you keep them alive. They live on in you and I want to continue to know about the people who raised such a smart, kind, loving, caring boy. I won't ever replace your mom, everyone only has one, but I hope you would let me change your last name to include mine." I said trying and almost failing at keeping it together.

Kuzma was crying by the time I finished speaking as I had to bite my lip to keep my own waterworks from starting. I wiped away a few tears from his eyes as he looked down and started to play with the neck of my shirt.

"You might not be my mom, but you'll always be my Dani. Kuzma Petrenko-Donovan." Kuzma said and looked up at me. I couldn't help the tear that escape my eye. Kuzma wiped it away before leaning in to hug me.

We stayed tight like this for a while before I heard the back door open. Morgan came around to face us both and knelt down in the grass.

"We need to hit the store before it gets much later." Morgan said. I nodded and Kuzma got the message that we needed to get moving. So he got up off me first while Morgan helped me up off the ground. It didn't take long to finish getting dressed and the three of us were out the door.

We took the SUV that Dominic drove us down in as he started to work on our truck, giving it a tune up. I think we are going to have to think about getting a new car as well, or at least a second one with more then a bench seat and a higher safety rating. I added it to the mental list of things I needed to do as Morgan drove us over to the grocery store.

Shopping with Kuzma was an exciting adventure. He always wanted to get everything that was bright and colorful. I almost let him get away with some of it, the only one stopping it was Morgan who put back all the big boxes or cereal he wanted and picked up the mini box pack so he could try them all and pick his favorite. We got a bit of everything from the store and the bill was huge. We almost needed a second cart as we had to get so much stuff.

By the time we got home, we found Dominic with engine grease under his nails as we started to lug everything inside. While Morgan and I worked on putting everything away, Kuzma kept bringing in bags for us. The system worked out well for a while until it came to the heavy items. Dominic paused working on our truck to give him a hand with the last remaining things.

Once everything was put away, we moved onto moving everything out of my old room into Morgan and I's new room. For now, I just dumped all of the clothes on the floor so we could start to move Kuzma's clothes and things in. I almost broke down when I saw the jacket and backpack he wore the night of the shelling. The jacket was cleaned by someone for sure but when I pressed it to my nose, I could smell the ash that will forever cling to it. I was really tempted to throw the jacket right into the garbage when Morgan found me holding onto it.

She took it from my grasp, along with the backpack and brought it upstairs so I could have a moment to collect my thoughts. By the time she came back outside I was able to start moving again and grabbed the box of Kuzma's toys. When I got upstairs with the box, I watched as Kuzma moved around the room, starting to make it his own. I left the box on the floor for him before going moving over to the nightstand that's on the right side of the bed. For now, I wanted to just move it out of his room. The gun safe is still inside along with hidden compartments containing some knives and other mementos from my time overseas. Just before I yelled out for him, Dominic came up the stairs with one of our duffle bags. He put it down in our new room before I asked him if he could move the nightstand as well.

Once the nightstand was on my side of the bed, I checked on the guns that are still inside. The two pistols inside were loaded and the extra magazines all looked like they were in good condition. So I locked the safe up again before getting back to the other tasks at hand. The rest of the day just continued on like this. We moved all of our stuff around and by the time we were eating dinner, we were all ready for bed. We all took turns moving in and out of the bathroom before going to bed early.

The next morning, I could swear I heard someone knocking on the front door. It gave me pause, trying to see if it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. Just as I settled down in bed to try and fall back asleep, I heard the knock again, I knew it wasn't my imagination. Quickly, I threw on a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts before pulling a pistol from my nightstand and made my way downstairs towards the front door. My hand tightly griped the handle of the gun as I started to clear my way down the stairs to the front door. Nobody was inside the house as I finally cleared the lower level so I made my way towards the front door. I could see two shadows through the frosted glass window we have I the front door. I tucked the gun behind myself and unlocked the door before pulling it open a crack to get a look at the person. They were dressed pretty well for it being early in the morning.

"Who are you?" I asked tensely as I wrapped my finger around the trigger of my pistol.

"My name is Anna Harris and my partner behind me is Derrick Jones, we are with the department of child services here for a home visit with Daniella Donovan and the child in her care, Kuzma Petrenko." The women said holding up a set of credentials and it was only then that I noticed the man lurking behind her. Carefully I relax the grip on my gun and pushed the safe back in place. It took everything in me not to snark at her how badly she pronounces Kuzma's last name. Once I pulled myself together, I tucked my gun into the pocket of my sweatshirt.

"Right, come on in, sorry, we were all still asleep." I said and pulled the door open completely. The both walked inside and knew they were already silently judging me. It was then that I caught the time on the clock, it's almost noon. Well that will do it.

"Would you guys mind if I go put on some actual clothes? I can also to wake Kuzma up too. You can take a look at things down here." I said wanting to get upstairs so I could put the gun away.

"Sure, we'll be here." Anna said and gave me a nod. I rushed up the stairs as quickly as I could and found Morgan already up with a pistol in hand waiting for me by the door. She relaxed a bit when she saw me as I put my gun back into my gun safe in my nightstand.

"Get dressed, DSC is here for there home visit and put that away." I said and reached for a pair of jeans and a nicer t-shirt. Once I looked a little more put together I walked over to Kuzma's door and opened it up. Kuzma was still fast asleep in bed and I hated that I was about to wake him up. I opened up the shades to let some light in before going over to his bed. I ran my hand over his head and I saw him start to move.

"It's time to get up buddy, we have some important people here that need to meet you." I said.

Kuzma finally opened his eyes and looked at me before groaning and rolling over. I couldn't help but chuckle and reach out to tickling him a bit. That got a laugh out of him and finally he was up and out of bed. I picked out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt for him to put on before he slipped into a sweatshirt then we walked downstairs together.

Anna and Derrick were talking with Dominic when we got down the stairs. It looked like Dominic had enough manors to get them some coffee while we were getting ready upstairs. Both of them looked our way when we got to the final step to the first floor.

"Kuzma, this is Anna and Derrick, they are here to check out the house. You want waffles for breakfast?" I asked. Kuzma nodded and clutched onto my hand. Together we walked over to the kitchen and I got his breakfast started while making myself some coffee.

"Is there anything I can get you guys?" I asked as I took a sip of my coffee, happy to finally have it with some milk again.

"How about a house tour while Anna stays back with Kuzma to chat with him." Derrick spoke for the first time since entering the house.

"Sure thing. Kuzma I'll be around if you need something. I just ask that if you ask him questions, don't use over complicated words. Kuzma is still learning English." I said as I plated up his waffles and gave them to him with the syrup.

Anna took a seat across from Kuzma while Derrick wanted to see the garage first. I opened the door for the garage and turned on the light so he could look around. Right away he went over to the gun safe and tried to open it to find it locked. I almost let a smirk grace my lips as he looked a bit annoyed he couldn't dock me for it. Then he looked around the garage and tried to open up the spare gun cases and ammo boxes, all were locked and I couldn't help but laugh a little on the inside and watch him struggle.

"Something you're looking for?" I finally asked having enough, using my command voice.

"Just making sure a child couldn't get into these accidentally. How many guns do you own?" He asked and finally gave up on the gun case finally looking around at the rest of the garage.

"A few." I said keeping the details to myself.

"You serve?" He asked pointing to my Ranger flag I have hanging over my work bench next to the gun safe.

"Yes, I do, currently active duty Army Ranger." I said.

"Impressive, thanks for your service. How about we check out Kuzma's room." Derrick said and tucked his hands into his pockets.

I could only nod before walking back inside and shutting the door behind us. We did stop in the kitchen for a few moments so I could have my coffee and check in to make sure Kuzma was okay. When I noticed he was done with his breakfast, I put the plates into the sink to wash later.

"Kuzma, how about we go show Derrick your room." I said and Kuzma nodded. He held onto my hand and together we talked upstairs to his room. I let go of Kuzma's hand and watched as he showed Derrick inside. He showed him some of his Christmas gifts with his new clothes we spent all day hanging up. Just as it looked like they were finishing up, Anna came up the stairs and she took a look around the room as well. She did it quickly from the doorframe with me.

"Do you mind showing me your room?" She asked. I shook my head watched as Kuzma showed Derrick the Lego train he put together over Christmas that has become one of his favorite toys.

"Is it just going to be you and Kuzma living here?" Anna asked as she walked into my room and looked around.

"No, I have a roommate, Morgan. We are going to set up the other bedroom downstairs for her when my brother goes back home." I said and watched Anna look around the room and the massive piles of laundry I still have to do.

While talking with Morgan about Kuzma's adoption, we made it pretty clear that we have to hide our relationship. The whole chain of command thing still an issue but with the house being in both of our names, we couldn't lie about Morgan not living here. We spoke to Kuzma about it that for now we are just friends who live together while we are going through this process but once it is out of the way, things will go back to normal.

"Yea, Morgan told me the same downstairs, she told me about you guys having this house together, how did that come to be?" Anna asked and turned to me.

"We went to bootcamp together, she is also active duty Army, as we continued our careers, we were both tired of living in the barracks so we thought why not buy a house together. It's worked for years and I wouldn't have it any other way." I said.

"It's always nice to have a friend like that." Anna said and we walked out of my room.

When we checked back in with Derrick, he was sitting on the floor with Kuzma showing him all the Hot Wheels he got for Christmas. Anna laughed at the sight and I couldn't help but smile.

"You doing okay bud?" I asked him.

"Derrick said he likes cars so I showed him mine." Kuzma said and held up the model that looks like dads car and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Well as much as he loves cars, it is time we head out." Anna said and I felt myself breath a sigh of relief.

Derrick got up off the floor and he followed Anna down the stairs and out the door. Once I saw their car pull away I took a deep breath. Morgan came up behind me and pressed a kiss to my neck and I felt some of the tension leave my body.

"They're gone, how about we go relax for a little bit before starting the day." Morgan suggested and I couldn't help but completely melt into her arms.

We ended up on the couch together with Kuzma lounging across our laps as Cars played on the TV. The movie was dubbed in Ukrainian while we had English subtitles on so Kuzma can get used to seeing English written out some more. After the movie was over, we had to get up and get moving for the rest of the day. First we started with getting the laundry together to get into the washer.

Once it was started, we left Kuzma with Dominic as Morgan and I started going through the small spare room we have upstairs. The rest of the day was spent moving and cleaning out that spare room in between loads and loads of laundry. Dominic managed to order Chinese for dinner and called us downstairs when it was ready. After dinner we settled down on the couch for another viewing of Cars, this time in English with the subtitles on again before it was time for bed.

Mom and Peyton drove down the next day and got here in the late afternoon. They came with a surprise though. Mom pulled Mandala out from behind herself and I almost cried seeing it again. While we were living with them, I found myself in her studio some days just looking up at the painting for hours at a time, completely lost in thought while looking at it. Her and Peyton barely let me say anything before they took down a simple print we had hanging up above the couch before putting it in its place.

The rest of the day was quiet, Mom and Peyton spent time with Kuzma while Morgan and I got out dress uniforms in order for the court appearance tomorrow. That was when I realized Kuzma didn't have anything nice for court. But before I could freak out, Dominic pulled me into the guest room and showed me the garment bag that held a suit in his size. He told me that he took him shopping for it one day while he was watching him. I couldn't help but smile and pull him into a hug.

With that taken care of, I went back to making sure my uniform was in order. That was when Morgan pushed the medal box into my hand. Inside sat the medal the President of Ukraine gave me. Even though I didn't want to wear it, I knew I needed too. I left it on the nightstand so it will be easy to find tomorrow before Morgan and I went downstairs to join the rest of my family. Dinner was made by mom and Peyton while I watched Dominic and Kuzma play soccer in the backyard. He was still so much better then any of us at it and it had me thinking to put him in a league once the adoption was finalized.

The night went quickly and before I knew it, my alarm was going off the morning of the court appearance. I got out of bed quickly and went to take a shower before making sure Kuzma was awake. I wanted him to eat breakfast first before he changed into his suit so there was so risk of getting it dirty. So together, we ate quietly like we normally do before I went upstairs with him to help him get dressed. Kuzma looks like he knew what he was doing though so I mainly stayed out of his way. Once he got to the tie though he held it out for me.

"My dad used to tie it." He said quietly as I took it in my hands. I kissed his forehead before getting to work on tying the knot in place.

"Next time we will do it together so you can learn okay." I asked once I finished off the knot and pulled his collar down. Kuzma nodded and leaned in to hug me.

Once I was finished, I gave him his suit jacket and let him go downstairs while I went to get dressed in uniform. Morgan was already up and half dressed by the time I got inside. It didn't take me long to get everything on and in place. Before I put on my jacket I went over to the bathroom and fixed my hair. Once every strand was accounted for, I returned to my room and pulled my jacket on before finding the medal box on the nightstand. I pulled the medal out and slipped it over my neck. After I was all done, I went downstairs to find everyone was just about ready.

When everyone saw me, we all got ready to leave. Now it made since why Dominic brought the large SUV with us on the drive, we were all able to pile into it. He drove us over to the courthouse while I stayed quiet holding onto Kuzma's hand. At this point I don't know who needed the other more. It didn't take long to get there and as Dominic parked the SUV my nerves had me wanting to throw up. I just tried to stay calm, Kuzma kept his hand firmly in mine as we walked up the steps of the courthouse.

My attorney was waiting right out front with a smile on his face. I tried to use that to settle my nerves but they were still getting the best of me. He went over everything that was about to happen and told me he read the report from the home visit. Even though there was a mark on it for us not being up and prepared, everything else went well. So at this point, all that there was left to do was for the judge to sign off on the paperwork.

Together we all made our way inside and found the room were the hearing was taking place and we walked in. Just as we started to make our way inside, I stopped in my tracks when I saw my team all sitting the stands, here to support me. When I felt a nudge on my back, I started walking some more and found that Major Collins, Ryan and Raymond were all also sitting towards the front of the group. I gave them all a watery smile as Kuzma and I took our seats at one of the tables in front of where the judge will be sitting.

"Do you remember them?" I asked Kuzma after we got settled.

"A little." He said after looking over at them again.

Before I could say anything, the court officer called the room to attention as the judge took his bench. I tried to pay attention to most what was being said but the beginning of it was mostly all legal speak. I tuned him back in after my attorney sat down poked my leg to pay attention.

"After that long introduction by Mr. Weisz I would like to say a few things. First thing first, I would be remiss to not acknowledge all the members of our military here in the gallery. Second, usually these adoption hearings take place after months of foster care, hearings, home visits and paperwork. I have personally read through all of the notes, character affidavits, medical reports and a personal letter from the President of Ukraine. I have seen a lot of things in this court room but this case has certainly been a first." The judge said and put down all of the paperwork in his hands. He sighed and looked over at me before looking down at Kuzma, his hand still tightly clutching mine. I think if his hand left mine right now, I might float away.

"Ms. Donovan, would you please stand." The judge asked. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach as I slowly stood from my seat, Kuzma tighten his grip around hand, he wouldn't let it go. I couldn't help but wrap my other hand around his to try and alleviate some of the distress he is feeling, but at this point, I don't know how much it was working. I stood tall though, held my chin high as I held onto Kuzma's hand.

"Though the report was mostly redacted, I could read between the lines. It also didn't help that your face was plastered all over the news and papers for a while. You sacrificed a lot serving your country and have seen worse things then I could even imagine. But somehow you ended up saving the life of this young boy. The reports I got back from the first home visit I would say were incomplete because of your absence. The second set at your home, it was like a completed 180. Your protective instincts and making sure Kuzma had everything he needed and made sure he was comfortable were impressive. That bond is already there when sometimes it takes months for that to form.

"In the few days you were home, Kuzma was already settled into this own room with a very impressive toy collection from the report. I know the more you two spend together, that bond will only continue to grow. Is there anything you would like to say on the record before we make this official?" The judge asked. I took a breath of relief and sagged a little bit when I realized the adoption was going to go through.

"Uhm, I don't have anything prepared your honor, but I would like to say a few words." I said finding my voice.

"The floor is yours Ms. Donovan." The judge said and sat back in his seat.

"I met Kuzma when my teammate and I pulled him out of this burning apartment building, I carried him over to get medical attention. Even though I shouldn't have, I stayed with him as another teammate reset his broken arm to try and give him some level of comfort. Then I had to go finish what I started with my team. By the time I made it back to the triage area, the sun was already coming up. Just as I sat down to catch my breath for the first time that night, I saw this little boy come up the hill and it was Kuzma. He crawled into my arms and I held him as close as I could until we had to move again. I wanted him to have the best chance of a life outside of the war that consumed not only his country, but his parents as well." I said and swallowed hard to try and keep my emotions together. I took another breath before I was able to start speaking again.

"When I returned stateside and found Kuzma sitting on my mothers couch, I was so shocked I didn't know what was going on. Every day since I've come home, Kuzma and I have started our days together just like we did on that hill in Ukraine. Sitting together quietly, watching the day start. And if you grant me this honor sir, I would like to continue to do so because Kuzma is my kid." I said and couldn't help the single tear that escaped my eye.

Before the judge could say anything I felt a tug on my hand and I looked down at Kuzma. He let go of my hand for the first time since we got into the courthouse and pushed himself out of his chair. He stood in front of the table we were assigned and looked at the judge with his serious face on.

"Every morning Dani and I have breakfast together. It reminds me of before the bombs fell, being with Mama and Tato. I don't have Mama and Tato any more but I do have Dani and she is my Dani." Kuzma said and then nodded satisfied with his little speech before walking back over to me and took my hand in his.

"Well Kuzma, how about we make that official. Ms. Donovan, if you can sign in the spaces with the flags everything will complete." The judge said and held out a few pieces of paper. Kuzma walked with me to the stand and I took the clipboard from the judge and brought it back over to the table.

My attorney helped me make sure I signed in every place necessary before I walked the papers back over to him. The judge double checked everything before signing the documents and stamping them.

"By the power invested in me from the state of Georgia, I now announce this adoption case complete, from this day forward, Kuzma Petrenko shall now be known as Kuzma Petrenko-Donovan, this session is adjourned." The judge said and banged his gavel.

I took a shaky breath and looked down at Kuzma while the attorney went to go collect the executed paperwork from the judge.

"Lets go home bud." I said and held out my hand. Kuzma gave me a hug before taking my hand. For the first time since I left the hospital in Germany I felt like I could breath with no stress on my shoulders, Kuzma was finally, officially, mine.

a/n: Kuzma is officially Dani's. only two more left now. Song on the side is Strong Enough by Sheryl Crow.