No Longer Alone *Story Complete*

Chapter 3:


Santa placed his bag near the seat before sitting with his elf and Mrs. Clause near his side. “Have you all been good?”

“Yes!” They all said happily.

“Good! That’s what I wanted to hear!” He said giving a hearty chuckle. “Well, you all know Mrs. Clause. Say hello to Mrs. Clause, kids.”

“Hi Mrs. Clause!” They said in unison.

Kaida stepped from and smiled. “Hello Children! Mother Lane has told Santa and I that you’ve all been very good! I’m proud of you all.”

‘Ryo is going to kill me for this…’ Dee thought but shook his head. “I want to introduce you all to my very special helper elf. Kids, say hello to Tiny.”

Ryo’s face flushed bright red in embarrassment from the name as he sent a discreet glare at ‘Santa.’

Childish giggles and laughter filled the room while Ryo vowed to injure his partner later.

“Hi Tiny!” They all called, their voices still filled with giggles.

“Hi kids!” Ryo replied after a moment, putting a smile.

“Now Santa is going to let Tiny choose who will come up first.” Dee said, smiling at his elf.

Ryo looked out at the bright faces of the children until his dark eyes landed on a pair that mirrored his own. She sat quietly at the end of the front row, her knees drawn up to her chest as tiny hands clutched at the blue cotton of her jumper. Though she smiled, he could see the sadness in her eyes as a small hand came up to push her long raven hair out of her almond shaped eyes.

“How about you.” Ryo pointed to the little girl. Her smile widened as she outstretched her arms for him to pick her up.

Ryo felt his heart melt as he leaned over and scooped the girl into his arms. “What’s your name, little one?”

“I’m Ayame.” She said quietly, her cheeks turning pink.

“Ayame…that’s a very pretty name,” He said to the little Japanese girl. “How old are you?”

“I’m five.” She said, showing five chubby fingers as he took her over to Santa.

“You’re a smart girl!” He said happily and just as he was about to put her on Santa’s lap, the little girl kissed his cheek.

“Arigato, Tiny.”

He heard Kaida laugh softly as he placed the cute little girl on Dee’s knee. The little girl warmed his heart and suddenly, his too snug tights and elf shoes didn’t seem so bad.

Ryo watched little girls face light up when Dee whispered something on her and placed a gift with her name on it, on her lap. As she ripped away the wrapping paper, she squealed happily. The sandy haired man couldn’t help but to wonder what happened to her parents.

He watched as she cuddled the cabbage patch doll while Dee read the dolls name and birth date. She placed a kiss on Dee’s cheek and thanked him before sliding from his lap and cradling her doll like a baby. Kaida brushed her fingers across the little girl’s cheek.

“So what’s your baby’s name?” She asked, pulling out a pink and white candy cane.”

Ayame looked back to Santa and he nodded. “Her name is Remiko. Isn’t it a pretty name Mrs. Clause?” She asked with a smile as the next child went up.

“Yes it is, little one.” Kaida replied.

“I really like her name too…I’m gonna call her Remi.” She said and went back to her spot and placed her candy cane in the dolls arms and cuddling it. She continued to hold Remi as she watched the other kids get their own gifts for a few more moments.

Her black eyes drifted over to the elf and she smiled, blushing cutely as she made Remi wave at him.

Ryo waved back with a warm smile before turning his attention back to Santa. He knew he was quite taken with the sweet little girl and as he thought back to how fatherly Dee looked holding her, he couldn’t help but to think what a good parent he would make one day.

o-o

Ryo slipped his jacket back on and looked over his should to Dee. “I’ll wait for you in the main office.” He got a nod as he picked up a bag and left the room.

Ryo walked down the hall and rounded the corner before coming to a halt mid step. Little Ayame smiled when he rounded the corner and walked to him. She looked up to him, holding her baby in her arms.

“Tiny, what’s your real name?” She asked in a small voice.

“My name is Ryo.” He said and knelt in front of her.

She moved forward and wrapped her arm around him. “Arigato, Ryo.”

He felt his heart tug before wrapping his arms around her tiny form. “You’re welcome Ayame.” He said quietly and pulled back, smiling as he moved to sit on the floor against the wall.

Ayame moved to sit next to him and placed her head on his arm. “Ryo has pretty eyes like my Otousan had…” She paused for a moment. “Will you come back to see me?” She asked in a hopeful tone.

He nodded and felt his smile widen. “Of course I’ll come back and see you.”

“Good.” She said and closed her dark eyes.

o-o

Dee rounded the corner and admired the sight before him. Ryo was pushing himself to his feet, holding the sleeping Ayame in his arms. The ebony-haired man picked up the discarded bag and moved him, rubbing her cheek and watching as she smiled in her sleep, cuddling closer to Ryo. “Sorry that took so long.”

“She’s adorable.” Dee said as they walked to the office.

“She is…” Ryo agreed. “She said I had pretty eyes like her father had.”

“The kid has good taste.” He said with a grin as he entered the office where Kaida was sitting at her desk in her regular clothing. “hey Kaida, can you tell us where this little gal goes?”

She stood and looked into the sleeping girls face before nodding. “I’ll show you where her room is.” She came from behind the counter and led them down a hallway. “Poor thing. She came to us about a month ago. She hasn’t smiled before today.”

Ryo held the little girl closer to his chest. “What happened to her parents?”

A sad sigh escaped her lips. “her mother and father were killed in a car accident. The driver of the other car survived and was under the influence of meth which drove him to run from the police. She has no other family in this country and can’t contact her family in Japan. No information could be found.”

The three adults felt a surge of anger flow through their bodies at the idiotic acts of the stranger that had taken this sweet little girls family. Kaida opened the door to reveal filled with three beds decorated mostly in pink, but there were various pastels around the room. “Lay her here.” She said and pulled back the pink and white daisy covered comforter.

Dee removed the little girls shoes and sat them on the floor before Ryo moved to lay her down. The hearts ached when she whimpered and let out a quiet “daddy.”

Hey eyes opened as the dark eyed detective placed Remi in her arms. “Ryo, you promise you’ll come back to see me?” She asked again as she gazed at him with exhausted eyes.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Of course I’ll be back to see you,” He then hooked his pinky around hers. “Promise.”

She smiled before falling back to sleep. Ryo pushed her raven locks away from her face before following his partner and the young woman from the bedroom.

Kaida led them back to the office and turned to Ryo. “you’re the first person that she has truly opened up to since she’s been here. She’ll sit quietly and watch the other kids and with the medication she takes, it makes her sleepy.”

“Medication? Why is she on medication?” De asked.

“Well, she was in the car during the accident. She had some injuries to her back and internal bleeding that required some surgery. That’s how Mother Lane found out about her. We have to take her to the doctor for follow up appointments every week. The medication manages her pain. She’s getting better, but slowly and she still may have some limitations.”

“Poor kid, she seems like a strong one though.” Dee said and they nodded in agreement with him. “well Kaida, remind her that we’ll be back to visit.” Dee said, giving her a hug and an innocent peck on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Kaida.”

“Merry Christmas to both of you too.” She said, then turned to Ryo and gave him a hug as well, laughing hen she saw the blush on his cheeks.

“It was nice meeting you Kaida.” He said with a shy smile as they left the Orphanage.

o-o-Author’s Note-o-o

There’s chapter 3. For those of you who haven’t noticed, this story has quite a bit of the WAFF to it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it, simple as that :-D

Please don’t forget to review if you read. Thank you for your support!

Ezzy

PS: I don’t own Fake or Cabbage patch dolls, but I do own Kaida and Ayame.