Maybe try fostering first? Pt.1

"Mr Pritchet, Mr. Tucker it's great to have you here, exciting time isn't it?" A chubby African American woman with black curly hair said as Cam and Mitchell were sitting in front of her in her office "I know you've done the paperwork and went to classes, but this is your first time fostering a child right? I know you adopted one and were on a path to adopt a second one tight?" The woman said as the couple nodded

"Yes, we tried to adopt a child by talking to the pregnant mom, but it didn't work out," Mithell said with a sigh

"Yeah the grandma came in and took it, it was a big moment for them I mean," Cam said tearing up a bit after remembering what happened that day in the hospital and Mitchell took his hand in support

"I'm sorry, that rarely happens, well at least in this department," The woman said trying to trap the couple into adopting a kid "So why did you decide to take on our foster adopting program?" The woman asked in curiosity as Mitchell rubbed his hands together and sighed as Cam put a hand on his back in support

"After our trip down to Mexico, we gave up we really did," Mitch said to the camera in a sad tone "But then we saw a pamphlet of a foster care place in a gas station on our way home and we grew curios," Mitchell said

"We saw it as a sign and we started diving in, and we felt bad for what those kids go through, so our flame lit up again so to speak," Cam said excitedly as Mitch grabbed his hand

"So now, this is our last chance, because if it doesn't work, I don't know what we will do," Mitch said preoccupied and Cam grabbed his shoulder in support

"Excellent, then there's only one thing left, for you to choose your kid," The woman said excitedly as Mitch raised an eyebrow in confusion

"Chose our kid?" Mitch asked confused

"Yeah, we have a big party in two hours, a way to distract the kids and for you to get to know them," The woman said with a huge smile "We believe is more human than just looking through a document and choosing without having met the kid first," The woman said standing up from her chair

"So shall we?" The woman said walking to the exit as Cam and Mitch quickly got out of their chairs shocked and surprised

"That quick, oh my god Mitch I'm not sure if I'm ready," Cam said nervous as Mitch rubbed his back trying to calm him down

"Calm down, we're just going to meet them and that's it, who knows what will happen?" Mitch said reassuringly

But bad things did happen that day, after all whenever Mitchell and Cam tried to bond with a child another couple took him away, one made fun of Mitch's ginger hair, one kicked Cam's leg just for fun and Cam had gotten stuck in the inflatable while Mitch was trying hard to take him out

So later they stopped trying to meet children and just passed their time in the eating lounge "I don't know Cam, maybe it's not meant to be," Mitchell said with a sigh as they were eating a piece of pizza that the organizers where giving away

"I know, who would know that picking a kid would be so hard, I mean we didn't have this much trouble with Lily," Cami said looking at the table in front of him "I don't know, I was hoping for a sign, like if I saw him I will know," Cam said and Mitch looked at him confused

"Yeah right, like if the perfect kid is going to appear out of nowhere, that doesn't happen in real life Cam," Mitch said sarcastically with a snort as they kept eating the pizza in sadness

"Uh excuse me, misters?" Mitch and Cam heard someone speak to them and turn around

Where they saw a teen with tan skin and curly black hair, his eyes were brown and when the light hit them just right like right now they passes as bright yellow eyes, he was wearing a pair of tight black ripped jeans, a black open hoodie and a black shirt with a white Metallica logo and a photo of James Hatfield on black and white and to top it all he wore a pair of red vans on his feet

"Can I grab a slice of pizza? You're kind of in the way," The teen said as Mitchell and Cam's eyes winded and moved out of the way

"Ah right, sorry," Mitchell said and the teen smiled at them

"Don't worry dudes, it's just that los mocosos," The teen said referring to the kids playing around in his native Spanish language "After they're done playing always finished the pizza fast, so if I don't get my slices I won't get anything," The teen said grabbing two slices of Pizza and putting them in a dispensable blue plate

"Ah excuse me?" Cam said looking at Mitch as the ginger man shrugged his shoulders the teen looked at Cam with a raised eyebrow and a pizza in his mouth "What's your name kid?" Cam asked sweetly and the teen snorted

"Ah trust me hermano, you don't want to adopt me, I'm old," The teen said with a chuckle and then sighed "I mean you look lovely, but most people don't want to deal with a teen like me, especially one of seventeen years old," The teen said as he took a bite out of his pizza and started walking away

"Still you could give us a chance? This place is for us to know the kids here right?" Mitchell said hopefully, maybe it was how the teen appeared right behind them as they said the thing about fate, or maybe it was because they were trying for a younger one and failing so maybe they decided to try and get to know an older kid

Whatever it was, Cam and Mitchell felt a sort of connection or something, they couldn't quite place the feeling but they knew they have to at least get to know the kid

The teen looked at them and sighed as he shrugged his shoulders "Que mas da? No es como si fuera a hacer diferencia," The teen whispered to himself saying that it didn't make any difference, he knew that he wouldn't be adopted, no one ever did adopt a teenager "My name's David, David Martinez, and if you folks want to get to know me can we do it elsewhere? I have something I like to do on this day," David said walking away not waiting for a response but inviting the couple to follow him

David silently led them to the farthest place of the foster organization building which had a wall with a painting of a big beautiful mural of a forest with several animals there, and Mitch and Cam realized that some animals weren't finished while some were, and they saw David working on a black wolf that was almost done

"What's this?" Cam asked in amazement and wonder as they saw David grabbing some paint after putting his plate on a nearby table

"A tradition between us older kids in here," David said as he started painting the wolf "We pick an animal and painted on the forest, our goal is too not finished the painting because it means that we got adopted, and didn't actually get to finish it," David said looking at the couple straight in the eye before continuing painting

"As you can see not many are unfinished, and we all know it," David said with a sigh as he continue painting "So what did you want to know Misters…?" David asked trying to find out their names

"Ah yes, where are our manners, I'm Mitchell Pritchet," The ginger man said and David nodded as he stared at Cam in curiosity

"And I'm Cameron Tucker," Cam said and David nodded

"And are you married? Because I know gay marriage is not legal yet here in California," David said and Cam and Mitchel nodded as they took a seat next to the teen which the teen didn't mind as he continue panting

"Yeah we know, but we're together, we even have a daughter," Cam said as David raised an eyebrow at him in confusion

"If you have a daughter why are you here then?" David asked confused and Mitchell sighed

"We wanted a baby boy, we fight for it this whole past year," Mitchell said as Dacid looked at him "We figure we could do it, and I don't know had this whole new experience," Mitchell said and Cam took over

"We know it sounds silly, but we were excited, but people are uncertain about giving a child to two gay dudes," Cam said and David nodded in understanding

"I get it, people are afraid of what they consider abnormal," David said as Mitchell snorted

"Yeah you hit the nail on the head kid," Mitchell said with a sarcastic chuckle

"So, I'm guessing it didn't go as planned?" David asked rhetorically and Mitchell chuckled

"No it did not," Mitchell said as Cam cleared his throat and started telling the story of how it had turned out, which David hadn't asked but after started hearing the story he was wrapped in it like a deer seeing a headlight

"Wait, so the grandmother comes and takes the baby away? Just like that? What about the priest?" David asked in curiosity

"Unknown, we didn't stay there for long," Mitchell said and David nodded in understanding

"I get it, I mean I'm sorry but that was the best telenovela I've ever heard of, and I watch a lot of them," David said chuckling as Mitchel and Cam smiled "You're like me in a sort of way huh?" David said with a dry chuckle as Cam looked at him confused

"What do you mean?" Cam asked in curiosity and slight confusion especially when they saw the melancholy look David had adopted on his face

"Well, you had tried everything, and now this is your last shot, if this doesn't work, then what's the point right?" David said sarcastically "I turn eighteen next year, that means the foster home system doesn't apply to me anymore, so this is technically my last event here, I could get adopted but after this long, is clearly not going to happen," David said letting out a sigh at the end as he stood up and dusted his pants

"There's a kid, about two years old, his name is Ben, he's cute, ask the old woman about him, he should fit what you're looking for," David said looking down at them as he placed his hands in his pockets and started walking away then he turned his head back and looked at Cam and Mitchell with a small smile on his face "It was nice meeting you, good luck old men," David said with a chuckle in his voice as he walked away

Mitchell and Cam looked at each other and then back at the drawing David was painting which now they realized was almost done, the only thing missing were the colors of the wolf's eyes

"Mitchell, I know we said adopting a little boy, but," Cam said with hope in his voice as Mitchell sighed and grabbed Cam's hand and squeeze it

"Let's go talk to Ms. Jackson, I think we found the one," Mitchell said as the couple stood up and walked together back to the office they started this journey

"So, who caught your eye?" The woman asked excitedly as Mitch and Cam looked at each other and nodded to each other agreeing mentally with one another

"His name is David Martinez," Cam said and the woman, who was flipping through some papers, froze and looked at the couple in shock

"Uh, are you sure?" The lady said and before the couple could voice their outrage and confusion the woman kept talking "I mean don't get me wrong, he's a sweet kid but he has a lot of issues, and I thought you wanted a baby," The woman said but started taking out David's file nonetheless

"We thought so too, but we changed our minds," Mitchell said with a small smile on his face "We felt something when we met him, so we think," Mitchell said as he grabbed Cam's hand "We know, we could give him a good home," Mitchell said as the woman looked at them and sighed and presented his file

"David, like most of our older kids, is a special case," The woman said as she handed the file to Mitchell and Cam "His mother died in childbirth, no grandparents from either side," The woman said as Cam and Mitchell looked at the paper

"And his dad?" Cam asked in curiosity looking at the file with Mitchell and then they noticed how silent the woman had become

"Jail, multiple charges of child abuse, he won't be getting out anytime soon," The woman said calmly as she let them process her words

"Wait, what do you mean?" Cam asked scared and Mitchell showed his concern too as his eyes widen in surprise

"We got him when he was twelve, child services took him away after his neighbor heard him screaming, it was a mess, that we have been working on but with him moving from family to family, it's not going great," The woman said with a sigh

"David is pretty much a self-taught person, he learn how to read, how to cook, how to dress, how to behave pretty much on his own, he had to grow up so fast, but he has a fire inside him that comes at the worst times," The woman said as Mitchell looked at the woman in confusion

"He has anger issues, ADHD, and he's dyslexic. which we've been working on, painting, playing soccer, cooking, playing instruments and singing are a few ways he's managing his anger issues," The woman said

"And his ADHD and dyslexia ?" Mitchell asked in curiosity and the woman sighed

"Well he's an active person, soccer also helps with his ADHD, but his dyslexia we caught it two years ago, and he's struggling in subjects that require essays, but as you can see in his file, he's excelling in math, chemistry and drawing subjects," The woman said ending the conversation with a smile

"I know it sounds too much, trust me you're not the first persons who were interested in him but everyone after seeing his file turns him down, he's a good kid, he just has been dealt a bad deck in life, I hope this doesn't change your mind," The woman said and Cam and Mitch who were staring at the file and seeing how serious David looked in his photo well it moved them

"No we aren't, he's coming with us," Cam said as Mitchell nodded agreeing with his partner

"What do we need to do?" Mitch asked in excitement and curiosity

"So are you excited?" Cam asked as Mitchell and he was driving back home with David in the backseat staring out the window

"I don't know, I never stay in a house that long if I'm being honest," David said with a sigh as Mitch and Cam looked at each other uncomfortable "Still this is the farthest I've been to the upper side of California, it looks pretty," David said with a small smile on his face

"You're going to love it here, and you're going to love Lily," Cam said excitedly as David looked at him in confusion

"Your daughter?" David asked in curiosity and Mitch nodded with a smile on his face

"Yeah she's starting kindergarten soon, I hope that's not a problem?" Mitch asked hopefully

"Nah not at all, but she won't be afraid of me? I mean isn't she expecting a little brother?" David asked in confusion and curiosity as Cam and Micthell's eyes winded and looked at each other

"Oh my god, we didn't even tell Lily!" Cam said embarrassed and Mitchell pinched his nose

"God, we were so excited that we forgot to mention it to her, I hope she doesn't get mad," Mitchell said and David chuckle a little

"You people are funny," David said with a snort as Mitch and Cam sighed and chuckled as they arrived at their home David exited first as he stared at the house in wonder

"So, what do you think?" Mitchell asked in curiosity and David looked at him while Cam picked out his stuff from the trunk of the car

"It's lovely, ah I can take care of that," David said grabbing one of his bags from the trunk and Cam smiled at him

"We know, but we want to, so are you ready?" Cam asked excitedly and David shrugged his shoulders

"I guess," David said as he followed Mitch and Cam to the house he felt anxious a little bit and he saw a beautiful home inside which felt good

"Lily! Come here!" Mitch said and David hear little pair of footsteps coming toward them

"Daddies you're back!" David heard the voice of a little girl shouting David saw a small Asian little girl running to hug Cam's right leg

"Hey sweety, come on let's take a seat," Cam said picking Lily up and putting her on the couch on his lap as Mitchell invited David to take a seat on the sofa which the teen did "You remember how we talked about how you were going to have a baby brother?" Cam said rhetorically as Lily nodded and looked at David in confusion

"Well Lily, this is David," Mitchell said as he went to put a hand on David's right shoulder but the teen flinched when he was the hand moving up and Mitch looked at David in concern and put his hand back on his lap "He's going to be staying with us for a while, is that okay to you?" Mitchell said as Lilly looked at David in curiosity tilting his head

"He's not a baby," Lily said flatly getting a snort out of David which made Lily smile a little

"Yes, he's not sweety," Cam said as Lily looked at Cam confused

"So is he going to be my big brother?" Lily asked in curiosity as Cam and Mitchell looked at each other uncomfortable but then David clear his throat

"Sure," David said rubbing his hands together nervously "I always wanted a little sister," David said with a small smile on his face and Lily stepped out from Cam's lap and ran up to David

"Wanna see my paintings?" Lily asked excitedly as David looked at her and then back at Mitch and Cam in confusion and they nodded encouragingly

"Sure thing, just one thing," David said as he looked at Mitch and Cam "Why is there a huge elephant puppet with a yellow t-shirt and BOY written on it on the table?" David asked with a deadpan expression "Better question why is there a huge gorilla puppet next to the other one?" David said pointing at the table behind him with a deadpan expression on his face

"Nothing don't worry about it, just a present from some friends, let's go get yourself settled in your room," Mitch said as David nodded and they walked into the room and David's eyes winded

"Oh dios, it's so blue," David said as the room was filled with the color light sky blue and several white spots that resembled clouds with a rainbow on the wall next to the door "It's, wow, no es tu mucho?" David asked as Mitchell pinched his nose in annoyance as Cam had done it again and went overboard

"It's much isn't it?" Cam said chuckling nervously and David shook his head and chuckled

"Nah don't worry, I mean it's cute, it's clear you were expecting a baby," David said amused as he looked at the walls "But is not really my style misters, I prefer darker colors, as you can see," David said pointing at his clothes with a sarcastic chuckle

"Don't worry, we can go to the hardware store for some painting of your liking, then we need to head to Dad's house for his birthday, and introduce you to the rest of the family," Mitchell said as David's eyes winded

"First day and I'm meeting the rest of the family, Dios santo, I'm going back to foster care in a flash I tell you," David said talking to the cameraman "Also, I don't understand this, the family is in some sort of documental or something? Why are you getting scared dude?" David said in confusion

"Great, uh so Lily can you show me your drawings?" David said as Lilly nodded excitedly and grabbed David's hand and dragged him into her room excitedly

"This is going good, isn't it?" Mitchell asked and Cam grabbed his shoulders and smiled "Still did you have to paint the rainbow?" Mitch asked with a sigh and Cam chuckled nervously

"You know how I get inspired sometimes," Cam said with a laugh and Mitchell shook his head with an exasperated sigh

"So, what should I expect from the family?" David asked Lily as they were waiting for Mitch and Cam to load the black and white painting David had picked up

"They're insane," Lily said in a whisper as David's eyes winded and looked at her a little afraid

"Really? That doesn't reassure me," David said rubbing his face as Lily kept playing with her doll "Still I can't believe you convinced them to get a cat," David said with a chuckle as Lily smiled

"I'm going to name it Larry," Lily said excitedly as Cam and Mitch entered the car in the front seat

"You seem frustrated it's something wrong?" David asked in curiosity and Mitchell sighed as Cam took the stage sort of speak

"The donation center didn't want the puppets, something about the risk of them carrying lice," Cam said and David nodded in understanding.