Chapter Text
Annalise opened her eyes. The red numbers on the alarm read 6:45. She tried to get up but the arm around her waist gripped her tighter. She smiled to herself as she linked her fingers with the ones of her wife. She an Eve had a rocky few years in the beginning but grew together instead of apart. Eve pulled her closer grumbling something unintelligible kissed the back of her neck as she dosed back off. Annalise pulled away again. Eve grunted and pulled her in closer.
"Come on you know we have to get up." Annalise said sleepily. Eve sighed and sat up looking at Annalise through half lidded eyes.
"I'm up I'm up" eve said stretching.
"Better be. The kids you had to have will be up screaming about Santa in thirty minutes" Annalise said covering her mouth while she yawned.
"Oh please you wanted them too! Don't give me that." Eve said taking her hand while they left their room. They went to the kitchen, Eve sat at the table while Annalise made her a cup of coffee. Eve had the foresight to set the coffee maker for an early time the night before. She watched Annalise with a wistful expression on her face. Annalise joined her at the table sighing with her eyes closed. She opened them and saw eve watching her.
"Something wrong Eveie?" She asked
"Hm, no.....just thinking" she answered. She reached for Annalise's hand and began to play with her wedding band. Annalise chuckled to herself. "I was just thinking how I never thought I'd have this"
Annalise nodded. She understood what she meant. After law school they were together but Annalise was too career driven too fully commit to her. They stayed together for three years before breaking up. Annalise wanted to start her own firm and Eve fully supported and for a while could stand Annalise's long hours while she built a client base but the nights alone were what hurt her the most. Growing up she saw her parents sleep in separate bedrooms and she knew they loved each other but were not in love, but were together for her. She promised herself to love one person fully and openly.
When she and Annalise made eye contact at the Harvard L1 mixer she swore time stopped and she had to know that woman. She pursued her and broke down walls that had been constructed over a lifetime. When Annalise left, her world went to Philadelphia with her. Of course they had some contact. There were weekends together and nights in hotel rooms when one was in the others city but that wasn't enough. Annalise was always her Achilles heel. She tried to find what she had with other women, but the spark wasn't there. She spent many nights wondering if she would ever feel safe and happy as she did with Annalise with anyone else.
"Look Eve, this is long overdue but I'm sorry. For everything. For pushing you away, for leaving. For making you put your life on hold. I was selfish, I wanted you but I didn't know how to choose you so I self destructed. It's what i know best. But I just want you to know I'm here now. With you, with them, with us." Annalise squeezed her hand looking into her eyes. "I feel like if my head was on straight from the beginning we'd still be here.....but they would be home from college and we would still be in bed wake up late have brunch"
Eve smiled at that statement. Nodding her head in agreement. "How much longer do you think?"
"I say fifteen minutes" Annalise answered with confidence.
It was their first Christmas with their children. They had been back together for eight years before it was legal for them to marry. It never mattered to Annalise she felt she was married to Eve since she was twenty five anyway. What was a piece of paper? Eve on the other hand wanted to be married, she wanted the world to know she was tied to the love of her life. The moment she heard it was legal for them to marry she took off for the day and went to a jewelry store. She purchased two white gold bands. She drove to the court house and sat in the back watching Annalise work. She loved watching Annalise in a courtroom, she exuded confidence. Confident Annalise was her favorite. Annalise won, to no ones surprise, she was packing up her briefcase when Eve approached her.
"So I guess it's celebratory steak tonight?" Eve asked with a coy smile.
"As easy as this was I don't feel I deserve it" Annalise answered.
"I don't either. I was saying celebratory steak because love won." Eve said taking Annalise's briefcase as they walked out.
"That is a reason for a steak...and vodka" Annalise said with a chuckle.
"Annie, you think we should get married?" Eve asked
"Yea........hell were in a courthouse lets go" Annalise grabbed her hand and went to a judge. The judge was happy to marry them. Annalise was surprised when eve pulled out the rings. They all had a good laugh at that. They left the courthouse giggling and in awe of what they had just done.
Annalise took a sip of coffee and looked at the clock. Eve still held her hand. They smiled softly to each other. They had been mothers for the past eight months. They adopted a set of nine year old boy girl twins, Marc and Tara. They were born in Brooklyn and spent the entirety of their life in the system, until their mothers. They were both highly intelligent and well adjusted children. They are their mothers absolute joy. Annalise thought back to when they first talked about it. It was on a car ride back home from Connecticut visiting Eve's parents. Annalise was reading on her tablet Eve had one hand on the steering wheel the other casually on her wife's knee tapping out a little rhythm.
"Annie" eve said eyes still watching the road.
"Hmm" Annalise answered not looking up from her iPad.
"Mom said something weird to me, she said she loves when we come visit but wished it was with grand kids" Eve said giving her knee a squeeze. Annalise turned off her iPad and looked over at her wife, with her eyebrows furrowed.
"Your mom wanted a grand baby when we were in law school." Annalise said
"Well yeah.....but I've been thinking about it too.......lately" eve said eyes still on the road.
"Eve, baby, we are too old for diapers" Annalise said laughing to herself.
"So your just going to write it off, there are plenty of older kids that need love and news flash Mrs. Rothlo there is a ton of it here." Eve said.
Annalise sat quietly reflecting on her own childhood and thinking what she has to offer a child. Of course she was at a point in life where she could provide it food, shelter and yes she would love any child she had with Eve whole heartedly but it was her nagging insecurities that were holding her back. Without thinking she subconsciously reached for Eve's hand. A habit she had gotten into years ago when she felt overwhelmed. Eve had become her anchor when she couldn't handle her feelings. She didnt have to worry about them being too heavy because Eve helped her carry them. Eve pulled into a rest stop and got out walking over to Annalise's side opening the door and unbuckling her seat belt. She gently helped her out of the car and held her. Annalise took deep breathes letting the cold air fill her lungs before exhaling. Eve rubbed her back in soothing circles and she felt herself relax. Eve smiled at her gently and rested her chin on Annalise's head, watching the cars go past.
"I'm sorry" Eve said sincerely. "That was a lot to put on you at once and..." She was silenced with a kiss.
"Don't be sorry. We haven't really talked about children in forever and I thought it was behind us, so I didn't think about it......often" Annalise said tucking a loose strand of hair behind Eve's ear. Eve cupped her face tenderly as she always did and kissed her. They both smiled into the kiss.
The adoption application wasn't hard, the background checks were passed, the interviews were easy. The hard part was waiting. For the first six months every time the phone rang they hoped for the agency but it was usually Eve's parents calling about what channel to put the tv on for watching a movie, a telemarketer selling Internet, Bonnie just wanting to talk or something irrelevant. The phone rang one Friday evening. They were getting ready to leave for a movie Annalise said to let the machine get it but Eve was sure it was her mother, she and her dad were on the outs again.
"This is she.......wait what?......" Eve said sitting on the bar stool.
Annalise walked back into their home thinking something was wrong by her wife's tone of voice. She tried to get her attention to get her to at least mouth what was wrong.
"That would be no problem.....Monday afternoon 3:00 is perfect, she won't miss it. Well thank you" Eve hung up and sat down smiling.
"What's going on?" Annalise asked worried. "That was our case worker......... She might have something for us" she answered "two something's"
"Two.....like one, two" Annalise asked
"Whew babe counting like that Harvard must have been banging your door down" Eve poked at her. "But yea, twins, they are nine, boy and girl. We can meet them on Monday at three"
"Shit....I have a class at 2:30" Annalise says "Hell I can miss a day, that's what my T.A. Is for"
The weekend can't go by fast enough. Neither one of them have looked forward to a Monday ever, but this Monday was special. They could be meeting their children. They woke up late on Monday, showered together. Had breakfast, more like they both picked at their food because of nerves. They had light conversations about anything but the topic of the day. The car ride was short but it felt longer than the twenty minutes that it took. They parked and walked into the building having light conversation. Eve linked her arm through Annalise's as they entered the building. While waiting for the elevator Annalise took in her surroundings, the building was plain, white walls and oversized house plants. The furniture looked worn and uncomfortable. When they got off on the twelfth floor they signed in and waited in the sitting area. There were a few other couples waiting all looking nervous. The receptionist called one couple back, then another. Eve rested her head on Annalise's shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. Annalise rested her head on eves and gave her knee a squeeze. The door to the back opened and a tall woman with blonde hair stepped out. She was impeccably dressed in a pencil skirt and a silk blouse with a pair of heels.
"Rothlo?" She said. Annalise and eve both stood up. "She smiled warmly at them extended her hand. "I'm Rachel Smith, your case worker." They all shook hands in a friendly greeting. "Good afternoon, follow me to my office." They walked behind her looking at all the pictures that lined the hallway of the office. Smiling families, and adorable children were in nice frames. They entered her office and it was like stepping into a different world her furniture was standard but the set up was different, more open. "Have a seat" Eve and Annalise sat down both looking anxious. Rachel smiled at them.
"Ok guys it's going to be a few minutes before they are here, they are being picked up from school. They go to a private school on the upper east side, they're scholarship there." Rachel said while typing on her computer, pulling up files. "They are extremely gifted and we've had a bit of trouble placing them. I wanted them to go somewhere where their minds would be nurtured, seeing your profile and that your both Harvard law graduates I felt you would understand the value of education. Here we go" she said turning the screen. Annalise and eve both gasped, the two faces they saw were beautiful. Tara had a bright smile and kind eyes. She had a medium brown complexion, her hair fell just past her shoulders. She looked like she had a open personality, like Eve. Marc looked like he was tall, he wore glasses. He had the same complexion as his sister. But he looked like he did t have much confidence. Annalise could see even through a picture that he was smart but did not believe in himself, like her. Eve held her hand. "Tara is the talker, Marc is shy. Almost painfully" Rachel adds. There is a knock on the door. "Here they are." She gets up to answer the door. Annalise squeezes her hand.
They walk into the office both looking a little unsure. Eve smiles at them, Tara smiles back. Marc nods and smirks, Annalise does the same. They are walked to an office and Rachel leaves them.
"Hey guys, I'm Eve this is my wife Annalise" Eve said softly. Both children looked at her.
"You guys are married" Tara asked.
"Yes, is that ok with you guys" Annalise asked. She never cared about what people thought of her sexuality, until now.
"Yea, that's cool" Marc said quietly.
" I don't care" Tara added. "How long have you been married?"
Annalise and Eve both smiled. They felt like they've been married for 20 years at least, through the ups and the downs and the time apart they knew they were each others end game.
"Well not that long really. But we've been together for a long time." Eve said honestly. She decided to be open with them, she knew what damages secrets held within families. She knew those would be her children and she did not want to start off with any deception.
"How long is a long time" Marc asked taking off his school blazer and loosening his tie. Annalise and Eve took that as a sign he was comfortable with them.
" I met Eve the fall of 1989. Right?" Annalise looked at Eve.
"Yeah, it was '89. October, right after homecoming" Eve added, Annalise agreed.
They talked for about another hour before the children had to leave. Rachel was right they are smart. They went back to Rachel's office and talked with her.
"So what do you guys think?" Rachel asked tapping her pen on her desk lightly.
"They're wonderful" Eve said softly. Annalise held her hand and squeezed. Eve linked their fingers.
Rachel smiled to herself watching them interact. She had no doubt those children would be loved. "That they are, they're special.Ok so would you like to move forward with the adoption with them, there will be a few things we have to do before it's final. But luckily with them they don't have any family that could contest the adoption." Rachel said as she typed.
"Yes" they answered together. Rachel smiled at them.
"Ok, like I said there's no one to contest with them. They were a week old when they were left at a church, no one saw their mother or father. No one came looking for them." Rachel said bending over to retrieve papers she had printed. Eve looked at Annalise. Annalise knew that she was upset hearing that, she ran her thumb across Eve's knuckles gently. "But as awful as that beginning was they have thrived in every aspect. I've been over their case for the last two years. People have shown interest in one or the other but I really want to keep them together" Rachel added. Annalise and Eve both nod in agreement.
There were home visits, meetings, parenting classes, more home visits, background checks, sleepless anxiety driven knights, self doubt and some tears but after four months they were parents.
"Did you hear that?" Eve asked Annalise, getting her attention from her thoughts.
"Yeah, I did." She answered finishing her coffee. The sound of feet running down the hall made them both smile. They heard their bedroom door open. They looked at each other and smiled that in their excitement they thought about them.
"Where they go?" Marc asked his sister
"I'm in here the same time as you fool" Tara said looking around.
"Kitchen" Eve said standing up she walked past Annalise letting her hand play along her shoulders. Eve was still very affectionate towards Annalise, and now their children got some of that as well. Annalise watched eve walk into the living room to greet their babies.
"Mama are you coming? I don't think they can wait much longer" Eve called for her.
"Here I come" Annalise called. Before she got up she thought back to a Christmas she had a few years ago. In a hotel by herself, drunk. "This beats that, even if I'm up before the sun on a holiday"