"Charlie, sweetie, are you ready yet?" Fred asked as she stood at the door to Charlie's bedroom, holding Andi. The baby yawned and snuggled against her mother, seemingly unaware of the hustle and bustle that was going on around the house that day.
"Not yet, Mummy!" Charlie called from behind the closed door. "Just a few more minutes."
"Are you sure I can't help you?"
"No. It's a surprise."
"All right. Your father and I will be downstairs waiting with your sister."
Going into the bedroom, Fred found her shoes sitting by the wardrobe and use the balls of her feet to knock them upright so she could step into them. Once she had them on, she headed downstairs to find Rupert, smiling when she once again saw the banner in the sitting room that said, "Congratulations!" on it. Today was the day. The day that their family would be official and complete even though it had been unofficially for them since the day of Andi's birth a few weeks ago. Of course, English law didn't see it that way, so they had to go through a solicitor that Helen and Richard usually used to help them file the adoption petition. Richard had also brought what clout he still had to bear to make sure that the Council didn't attempt to interfere.
"She insists on this being a surprise," Fred told her husband with a laugh before slipping Andi into her carrier. "I'm starting to wonder what she bought while she was out with Willow and Charlotte."
"Okay, I'm ready," Charlie said from the door. Turning around, Fred smiled when she saw their little girl wearing a white blouse with a black skirt along with a tweed jacket that looked exactly like a few that Rupert had. She pulled it open. "Look! Braces!"