Chapter Text
Lily sat silently on the airport bench tapping her feet on the legs of it. Her light-up sketchers flashing pink and purple with each bump. Her cold blue eyes scanned the airport patiently as she tapped her fingers on her legs, the little digits thumping quietly as she waited for her mother to return. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw her mother's curly auburn hair as she walked towards her. Her sweet brown eyes lit up as she spotted her baby girl.
Jada's hands reached out towards Lily as she walked to where she sat. Lily jumped up from her spot on the bench excitedly running into her mother's arms. Jada hugged her daughter as tight as she could, wrapping her arms around her small form as if to absorb her being entirely. She had only been gone for a week but being away from her was the worst feeling she had ever felt.
Jada never knew what it was like to love someone so much until she entered the office of her adoption agent.
Jada's life hadn't been the easiest up to that point, she spent her teenage years believing no one would love her due to her inability to communicate properly. Being deaf kept her from making connections with people who refused to learn sign, which was most of her peers. When she started college she found people to be more accepting of her disability and spent time learning to communicate with her instead of ridiculing her for not being able to speak well. One of those friends was a man named James Fractus, a tall thin man whose sparkling yellow eyes lured her into his spell. She was captivated by him; everything he did made her fawn over him more. So when he got down on one knee in front of the campus library, she couldn't say no.
But his charms didn't last long, the more time she spent with James the more she realized he never truly wanted her, what he wanted was attention. Specifically attention from the people who pitied him.
They would say things like:
"You're so strong for being with someone like that, I could never."
And they'd praise him and shower him with affection, all the while Jada would sit silently beside him, unbeknownst to them, understanding each lip movement as they ridiculed her and praised her incompetent husband for being the strong one right in front of her face. She hated the way he just let them say those things about her, but she stayed with him nonetheless, because whether she liked it or not, he paid the bills, he was kind to her; HE made her feel special. But one day that all changed.
About two years into their marriage, James decided he wanted kids. They had discussed it before, but never went further than just the possibility of it. But now he was sure, whether Jada was ready or not.
They tried two months for kids. Nothing.
Two months turned to three, three months turned to five, and five months turned to a year. By January, James had had enough.
They had consulted a doctor a month into trying, who had told them the possibility was slim to impossible, and Jada would probably never have kids, but James wouldn't take that answer, so they kept trying. Finally, after a year they gave up, to Jada's relief. Truth be told she wasn't too much in favor of having children and had grown tired of the relentless sexual attention her husband was giving her, but that relief didn't last long.
James walked into Jada's study and handed her a piece of paper, the parchment was warm as if it had just been printed. The walls began to crumble around her as she looked at the document.
He had filed for divorce.
"You have the rest of the day to gather your things. I called your dad; he's coming to pick you up at 11 pm. I want you out of my house before then."
Her hands trembled as tears streamed down her face and before she could even strain a word from her throat, he was gone. She ran to the door opening it and watching as he drove off in their one and only car. Her knees hit the floor as tears streamed harder from her eyes, her cries filled the neighborhood, but no one dared comfort her; they all just walked back into their houses, avoiding the crying woman as she crumpled to the floor.
Jada packed her things, the house echoing her silent sobs. She shuffled into the backseat of her father's car. She took one last look at the house she had spent the last three years of her life in, the garden she had planted with her husband, and the walls they'd painted together. She remembered how they bickered and fought over the colors and a little bit of her was glad he had left, but most of her was tired and distraught. She rested her head on the backrest of the seat and closed her eyes.
It took Jada a while to get back on her feet, but her degree in archeology helped her a lot. Her parents encouraged her to go out and find a job, no matter how hard it would be. It was hard for her to move on; no matter how hard she tried, she still missed her husband and missed being loved, so she threw herself into her work. Jada found work on a dig site with a researcher named Allan Grant in Montana. She worked with him for a couple of months, enjoying the badlands and outdoor living. The teepees were the most unusual thing she'd ever slept in. Out in the desert, no one judged her for her disability; most of the researchers had learned sign for various communication reasons, and she always felt accepted there. But she still yearned for love.
After the events at Jurassic Park transpired and funding dwindled due to the Hammond foundation losing investors, Jada decided it was finally time to try her luck at a family again. She tried multiple dating sites and singles groups but no one was interested. Integrating back into normal life was relatively hard after being on the dig site for a couple of cases. She had gotten used to signing and only talking on occasion, so when she got back, people expecting her to speak was a bit of a roadblock, but she overcame it.
Dating never turned out well for her, and in the end, she just felt tired of the constant rejection and restarting. So she went to an adoption agency. She visited multiple orphanages but what she truly wanted was a baby. When she was with James, she was afraid of having kids; she couldn't place it, but she never felt safe enough to bring a child into their world. She was still in college while they had been married and had no idea how they would sustain a child. But now she felt safe, and she knew that if anything happened she had people she could fall back on. People who wouldn't let her fall apart. And so she talked to an agency. She had been put on a list to receive a baby at the next possible notice. Jada waited excitedly, working day and night to save up as much as she could and buy her own apartment. She bought everything she could need for when the baby arrived, but it never did. She waited months, working relentlessly to distract herself from the pain that kept her awake at night. She later found out she'd been sidelined.
They said she "wasn't a good fit" for any of the hearing babies that were processed through the agency. Jada couldn't believe it and had almost completely given up, when one day she got a call.
"Hello, Ms. Hett?" The words are typed out onto the TDDs.
"Yes?" Jada replied. "Ah, Hello Ms. Hett, I'm contacting you to inform you we have a child for you." Jada's heart might have pounded straight out of her chest from excitement if it wasn't for her skepticism.
"When can I have her?" She asked, tears threatening to break through. Her voice trembled a bit as she played with a little leather band tightly wrapped around her wrist. "You may come in to get her next week, does Thursday work for you?" The words typed out. "Yes, Thursday works." Excitement dripping through the phone.
"Great, we will see you Thursday, goodbye Ms. Hett." And she hung up. Tears fell from Jada's face as she excitedly pranced around the apartment before calling her parents to tell them the good news. She was getting her baby.
So here she was, sitting calmly in the office of a social worker, they had just filled out all the paperwork and the woman had gone to grab the child. She was scared.
But her fear melted when the woman returned with her beautiful baby girl. Her skin was as white as ivory and her eyes as vibrant as the sea. She was covered from head to toe with freckles, and even her tiny hands sported the little brown dots. Lilly, she thought. I'll name her Lilly.
And so there she sat, holding the most precious moment she'd ever have in her arms. It looked up and smiled at her, reminding her that the child she held was truly hers, and that she'd do anything in her power to keep this little girl safe. A new chapter had just been opened in Jadah's life, and she couldn't wait to write it.