Chapter 51

"Hi, Hannah." Hannah goes flying into his arms as he is kneeling, and she actually knocks him over from the force as they fall to the floor laughing.

"Daddy!"

Hannah is wearing her knee length white dress with the red flowers. Christopher is wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Cathy is wearing a black knee length A-Line skirt and white blouse outfit. Sarah is wearing a knee length white dress with pink flowers on it.

As Hannah and Christopher continue to hug and kiss on the floor, Sarah and Cathy are looking on with tears in their eyes, smiles on their faces, and laughter flowing from their hearts.

Christopher finally wrestles his way back up into a sitting position. He looks over and sees Sue standing there with a smile on her lips and joy in her eyes. Christopher smiles back and gets up. As Christopher walks over to her, Hannah walks over to Sarah and hugs her for her loss. "We have our daddy now." Sarah nods with more tears running down her cheeks.

"Sue, I want to thank you for everything you have done for Hannah and us."

Just then Karen walks out with papers in her hands. Also Christopher's phone rings. "Christopher, it's John. The judge just made his decision and Hannah is yours."

"Thank you for everything, John."

"I'm happy for you, Christopher."

"I'm here getting Hannah now. I'll call you in a few days." Christopher puts his phone away. "And, Karen, thank you too and your section chief. This could have been a really hard time on Hannah, and yet I never saw despair in her life and that is all because you people truly care about the kids that come through here."

"Not all stories have a happy ending, but I'm glad this one does." Sue agrees. "All you have to do is sign these two papers and you can take your daughters home." Christopher does it gladly as his three girls look on. "Also there is this. It is Nan's last will and testament for you to be the executor of it until Sarah gets old enough to claim it."

"Does it say anything about how she wants to be laid to rest?"

"It says she wants to be buried in the same place as her husband, but she doesn't have enough money and I can't afford it either."

"We'll pay for it," says Hannah, coming forward.

"That's right," says Christopher, putting his arm around Hannah's shoulders.

"I would be honored to handle it," says Karen.

"You go right ahead, Karen, and do it up nice. Don't worry about the price. Nan risked so much by putting trust in me by letting me get close to Sarah, and look what it has blossomed into. She will be laid to rest with the full honors deserving of a lady of her stature."

Sarah comes forward and takes Christopher's hand. "Karen, would you like the chair back that you bought for Nan to remember her by?"

Karen's eyes flood with tears as she nods. She kneels down and Sarah hugs her. "Thank you, Sarah. For this and for showing me what life should really be like."

As the success story leaves, protective services all involved can't help but smile.

On the way back to the house Christopher says to Cathy, "You should return to Arizona to keep on eye on them and we'll be out in a few days after Nan's funeral."

"I would really like to go to Nan's funeral. She was a strong woman of our tribe, and she helped me through some things."

"Okay."

"If it is going to take a few days I might fly back out there and come back for the funeral."

After they pull into the driveway and are walking up to the house, Christopher sees Sarah looking over at Nan's house. "You two go ahead, Sarah and I will be along in a minute." Cathy directs Hannah into the house.

Sarah and Christopher walk over into Nan's yard. Christopher kneels, putting his right arm around Sarah's back. He points up to the top floor window. "Right there is where you started your journey down to me."

Sarah smiles, and then tears flood her eyes and she latches on to Christopher. Sarah just cries and cries and cries her little heart out. Christopher just holds her and strokes her hair until she looks over at the house, looks up at the now standing Christopher, and then she takes his hand and they go over to their home.

The girls' trophies have long since been on the fireplace mantle since they won them. They quickly fall into their wonderful routine of love, warmth and comfort. As Cathy and Christopher relax on the couch the girls disappear upstairs. They are obviously plotting something. Eventually they come down and stand just off to the side as naked as the day they were born, with their hands clasped behind their backs.

"Come on, daddy." and then they run and jump in the pool.

"Yeah, daddy, come on." says Cathy, pulling off her Harley shirt that she too wears as a nightshirt.

"Oh, I don't know. I think..." Christopher stops and thinks about it and then he says, "What the hell. We are a family now and nobody can take that away." Christopher pulls off his tee shirt and then pulls off his army shorts. He runs over to the swimming pool and does a cannonball. They don't bother trying to keep quiet and hide their pure innocent love and trust.

After they get done swimming, all the girls put on Harley shirts as nightshirts. They cuddle on the couch and watch a family movie. Christopher assumed that Sarah would want to sleep with him, and although for a second it looked like she was going to ask, she didn't. They tuck in their little Hannah and then Sarah. As Christopher is turning off her light she looks at him and gives him a hopeful smile.

As Cathy and Christopher are lying in bed, Christopher asks, "Would you mind if I slept with Sarah tonight?"