Real Person // Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock // Building A Family (One)
Title: Building A Family (Part One)
Fandom: Real People
Characters: Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock
Prompt: 83. Build
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,766
Summary: They meet Kamea.
Author's Note: Ah, I don't know them. This is just how I think it should be.
The story of how Keanu's dream family from The Beach came to be.
“There’s been a change in the adoption.”
“Excuse me?” Sandra asked, glancing at Keanu. They had just gone through four months of scrutiny, their backgrounds checked, fingerprints taken, house inspected, lives questioned … what other hoops would they need to jump through before they could formally adopt? They had been told initially that certification was it.
“We know you requested a boy, but we have a girl here that we feel would be perfect for you.” Ms. Bracamonte held up a manila file marked with a pink Post-It, but didn’t hand it over. “Her name is Kamea, she’s four years old, and was abandoned here by her mother, a teenager right before she turned one. At the time we were able to track her mother down and she signed forms exclusively releasing Kamea to whomever would adopt her.”
Keanu thought she was making the child sound an awful lot like a book an author would sign over for a studio to turn into a movie. He frowned at the image. “I don’t understand … how does that help us?”
“Well, if the biological parent is still interested in the child though they’re put up for adoption consideration, he or she has well over a year to take back the child. And in your case, well, given the celebrity status they may very well demand money for the child. Kamea’s situation allows you to adopt her without this worry because she was signed off so long ago. Any peep from the mother would be useless.”
“And you don’t have any boys in this situation?” Sandra asked.
“I’m afraid not.” Ms. Bracamonte set down the folder and regarded the couple carefully. “I’m not trying to pressure you, and I’m sorry if it’s coming across that way. We just don’t want a big legal battle on our hands. I’m sure you don’t either. If you choose a child who doesn’t have termination of parental rights, there’s a risk.”
Sandra sat back in the smooth, expensive leather chair. She couldn’t admit her fear about a girl, especially not with Keanu sitting beside her. Ever since they had first started talking adoption, she’d been adamant that they select a boy. She had no particular fondness for either sex, but a girl would carry a certain sensitivity with Keanu. Ava would have been about 10 years old at this time had she lived. Sandra was scared that adopting a girl would resurrect old pains in Keanu, maybe jumpstart depression. Even though it was his strong will to overcome the many sad occasions in his life that secured their certification for adoption at Olive Crest, she didn’t want those same occasions to cause them to lose it.
“I think we could handle a girl,” Keanu said with a small smile. He glanced at Sandra, mistaking her worry for disappointment. “I know you wanted a boy, but think about how you’ll be able to go shopping with her and gab about boys when she gets older …” he reached over and took her hand, gently caressing the back of it with his thumb. “Maybe we could meet her?” he asked Ms. Bracamonte, not taking his eyes off Sandra.
“Of course.” she could see now that Sandra was the shaky table leg which threatened her fragile house of cards. “I’ll go see where she’s at; give you two a minute to talk it over privately.”
When the door closed Keanu scooted his chair closer to Sandra’s, putting an arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong with a girl?”
“Nothing.” she didn’t want to tell him. If he hadn’t thought of Ava yet, she didn’t want to be the one to introduce the snag in their plan. “I was just all prepared for a boy. She seemed so final that we couldn’t have one.”
“We still can. Look, if Kamea doesn’t seem to be a good fit for us, then we’ll get a boy and take whatever comes with it.”
Sandra felt guilty. She knew Keanu hated being the attention of the media circus, and agreeing to a risk like that was hard for him. Maybe he would be okay with a girl -- after all, he grew up with them, having two sisters. And he hadn’t really known Ava, as she was stillborn … maybe a girl would turn out for the best.
“Okay,” she said finally with a firm nod, “Let’s go meet our girl.”
“Great.” Keanu kissed her, as he was fond of doing. “Mm, I love you,” he murmured against her lips.
“I know,” she whispered, thinking, And I’m just trying to protect you.
“Maybe,” he started as they stood, linking hands, “after we get this settled we could think about marriage?”
Sandra laughed. “Keanu, we talked about this. We don’t need marriage to define the fact that we love each other.”
He seemed embarrassed. “I know, and we don’t, but …” he opened the door, dropping the volume of his voice. “it was one of the things that nearly kept us from being certified. It might just be easier.”
“I know you want to get married. But I can’t just leap into a marriage right now. It’s only been a year since my divorce with Jesse finalized. I don’t want people to think that I just hop from man to man with no idea of what a big commitment it is.” Sandra walked out of the room, her hand slipping out of his grasp. Marriage was one of the few things left that they battled over; she was disappointed that he still failed to grasp her feelings about the matter.
“Have you made a decision?” Ms. Bracamonte asked as they joined her in the hallway. Sandra nodded.
“We’ll meet her, but we are still open to adopting a boy, even if it might mean a fight with the parents.”
“All right then. Let’s go meet Kamea.” she mouthed a thank you to Keanu behind Sandra’s back.
Keanu smiled patronizingly for his mind was occupied with their recent conversation. He knew Sandra had a hard time with the divorce, thinking of what a hypocrite she was for telling people she’d only marry once, that Jesse was the man for her, etc. She loved him, he knew that too, and adopting a child together showed she was committed to him. But she still seemed to consistently tread on eggshells when it came to the subject of being married. Her voice always carried the underlining message that since her first marriage had failed, she wasn’t sure this relationship was capable of lasting either.
“She’s a wonderful girl, very patient, works well with the other kids. She goes to an AM preschool currently and is more than prepared for kindergarten in the fall.” Ms. Bracamonte paused outside an ajar door. “This is the activity room for the younger children; in here are educational toys, art supplies, whatever they need to be creative and express themselves.” she peeked inside for a moment before gesturing Keanu and Sandra to come around and look inside for themselves.
“Which one is she?” Sandra asked as they watched the action in the room. The children were in groups, mixed genders; some were playing on the floor with action figures, others were getting rowdy over an intense board game, a couple were by themselves at round, colorful tables, drawing.
“Blue table on the far side of the room.” Keanu’s heart jumped a little as he followed her direction.
Kamea was hunched over her paper, little pink tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. She had blond locks which fell over her shoulder; fair skin, a tiny frame and determined look. They couldn’t tell from the distance what she was doing, but it must've been very important. She paused for a moment, pencil steadied above the paper, and both Keanu and Sandra held their breath, waiting to see her next move. Kamea began to nod her head very slowly, then faster, her little fists pumping and tiny waist shaking to the unknown song in her head. Sandra giggled.
“She’s adorable.”
“Can we … go in and talk to her?”
“Go right ahead,” Ms. Bracamonte urged them smiling. “She’ll be happy to meet you I’m sure.”
The children gradually hushed as they stepped into the room. They knew that when unfamiliar adults entered the room, it meant potential adoption. Already Keanu could see the children becoming more vocal, giggling and showing how well-behaved they were with each other. He tried to ignore them because already he wanted to take them all home. A foster facility, even as professional and loving like Olive Crest, was no match for a real home with a family.
“Hi,” he said as he knelt next to Kamea, regrettably hearing his knees crack. He was getting old. Sandra sat down in a chair next to him, hoping it would not break under her weight. “What are you doing?”
“Writing my name,” she said proudly before going back to what looked to Keanu like a series of vertical and horizontal lines as well as a couple circles. He looked at Sandra, who grinned.
“You’re doing a great job,” she assured her leaning forward to hear the girl’s quiet voice better. “What’s your name?”
“Kamea. Do you have any kids?”
Keanu smiled. “No, not yet.”
“I like families with kids.”
“So you have someone to play with?” he asked.
“Yeah.” she pushed the tub of crayons his way, clearly tired of talking. “Wanna draw?”
“Sure.” Keanu selected a black crayon and, self-conscious of his drawing abilities, began to sketch a nondescript shape. He hadn’t gotten far with it before Kamea pushed aside her own scribbles and was over his with other crayons.
“What do you think it looks like?” Keanu was trying to remember how his niece was at this age, to help him talk and interact with Kamea. He’d probably only been around her once at that age, and could remember nothing more than his back aching from carrying her around.
“A ship,” she said decisively. She snatched up a blue crayon.
“You know, I’m pretty good with water.” Kamea looked at Sandra for a moment, deciding if she was trustworthy with such an important job, before handing over the crayon. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll make a flag?”
“Okay.” Sandra scooted closer, using the crayon to make cursive cs that all connected. They resembled waves of water quite well. “How’s that?”
Kamea nodded approvingly. The three of them continued their creation of a ship sailing on a treacherous sea for the next hour; two months later Kamea moved in.
Fandom: Real People
Characters: Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock
Prompt: 83. Build
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,766
Summary: They meet Kamea.
Author's Note: Ah, I don't know them. This is just how I think it should be.
The story of how Keanu's dream family from The Beach came to be.
“There’s been a change in the adoption.”
“Excuse me?” Sandra asked, glancing at Keanu. They had just gone through four months of scrutiny, their backgrounds checked, fingerprints taken, house inspected, lives questioned … what other hoops would they need to jump through before they could formally adopt? They had been told initially that certification was it.
“We know you requested a boy, but we have a girl here that we feel would be perfect for you.” Ms. Bracamonte held up a manila file marked with a pink Post-It, but didn’t hand it over. “Her name is Kamea, she’s four years old, and was abandoned here by her mother, a teenager right before she turned one. At the time we were able to track her mother down and she signed forms exclusively releasing Kamea to whomever would adopt her.”
Keanu thought she was making the child sound an awful lot like a book an author would sign over for a studio to turn into a movie. He frowned at the image. “I don’t understand … how does that help us?”
“Well, if the biological parent is still interested in the child though they’re put up for adoption consideration, he or she has well over a year to take back the child. And in your case, well, given the celebrity status they may very well demand money for the child. Kamea’s situation allows you to adopt her without this worry because she was signed off so long ago. Any peep from the mother would be useless.”
“And you don’t have any boys in this situation?” Sandra asked.
“I’m afraid not.” Ms. Bracamonte set down the folder and regarded the couple carefully. “I’m not trying to pressure you, and I’m sorry if it’s coming across that way. We just don’t want a big legal battle on our hands. I’m sure you don’t either. If you choose a child who doesn’t have termination of parental rights, there’s a risk.”
Sandra sat back in the smooth, expensive leather chair. She couldn’t admit her fear about a girl, especially not with Keanu sitting beside her. Ever since they had first started talking adoption, she’d been adamant that they select a boy. She had no particular fondness for either sex, but a girl would carry a certain sensitivity with Keanu. Ava would have been about 10 years old at this time had she lived. Sandra was scared that adopting a girl would resurrect old pains in Keanu, maybe jumpstart depression. Even though it was his strong will to overcome the many sad occasions in his life that secured their certification for adoption at Olive Crest, she didn’t want those same occasions to cause them to lose it.
“I think we could handle a girl,” Keanu said with a small smile. He glanced at Sandra, mistaking her worry for disappointment. “I know you wanted a boy, but think about how you’ll be able to go shopping with her and gab about boys when she gets older …” he reached over and took her hand, gently caressing the back of it with his thumb. “Maybe we could meet her?” he asked Ms. Bracamonte, not taking his eyes off Sandra.
“Of course.” she could see now that Sandra was the shaky table leg which threatened her fragile house of cards. “I’ll go see where she’s at; give you two a minute to talk it over privately.”
When the door closed Keanu scooted his chair closer to Sandra’s, putting an arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong with a girl?”
“Nothing.” she didn’t want to tell him. If he hadn’t thought of Ava yet, she didn’t want to be the one to introduce the snag in their plan. “I was just all prepared for a boy. She seemed so final that we couldn’t have one.”
“We still can. Look, if Kamea doesn’t seem to be a good fit for us, then we’ll get a boy and take whatever comes with it.”
Sandra felt guilty. She knew Keanu hated being the attention of the media circus, and agreeing to a risk like that was hard for him. Maybe he would be okay with a girl -- after all, he grew up with them, having two sisters. And he hadn’t really known Ava, as she was stillborn … maybe a girl would turn out for the best.
“Okay,” she said finally with a firm nod, “Let’s go meet our girl.”
“Great.” Keanu kissed her, as he was fond of doing. “Mm, I love you,” he murmured against her lips.
“I know,” she whispered, thinking, And I’m just trying to protect you.
“Maybe,” he started as they stood, linking hands, “after we get this settled we could think about marriage?”
Sandra laughed. “Keanu, we talked about this. We don’t need marriage to define the fact that we love each other.”
He seemed embarrassed. “I know, and we don’t, but …” he opened the door, dropping the volume of his voice. “it was one of the things that nearly kept us from being certified. It might just be easier.”
“I know you want to get married. But I can’t just leap into a marriage right now. It’s only been a year since my divorce with Jesse finalized. I don’t want people to think that I just hop from man to man with no idea of what a big commitment it is.” Sandra walked out of the room, her hand slipping out of his grasp. Marriage was one of the few things left that they battled over; she was disappointed that he still failed to grasp her feelings about the matter.
“Have you made a decision?” Ms. Bracamonte asked as they joined her in the hallway. Sandra nodded.
“We’ll meet her, but we are still open to adopting a boy, even if it might mean a fight with the parents.”
“All right then. Let’s go meet Kamea.” she mouthed a thank you to Keanu behind Sandra’s back.
Keanu smiled patronizingly for his mind was occupied with their recent conversation. He knew Sandra had a hard time with the divorce, thinking of what a hypocrite she was for telling people she’d only marry once, that Jesse was the man for her, etc. She loved him, he knew that too, and adopting a child together showed she was committed to him. But she still seemed to consistently tread on eggshells when it came to the subject of being married. Her voice always carried the underlining message that since her first marriage had failed, she wasn’t sure this relationship was capable of lasting either.
“She’s a wonderful girl, very patient, works well with the other kids. She goes to an AM preschool currently and is more than prepared for kindergarten in the fall.” Ms. Bracamonte paused outside an ajar door. “This is the activity room for the younger children; in here are educational toys, art supplies, whatever they need to be creative and express themselves.” she peeked inside for a moment before gesturing Keanu and Sandra to come around and look inside for themselves.
“Which one is she?” Sandra asked as they watched the action in the room. The children were in groups, mixed genders; some were playing on the floor with action figures, others were getting rowdy over an intense board game, a couple were by themselves at round, colorful tables, drawing.
“Blue table on the far side of the room.” Keanu’s heart jumped a little as he followed her direction.
Kamea was hunched over her paper, little pink tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. She had blond locks which fell over her shoulder; fair skin, a tiny frame and determined look. They couldn’t tell from the distance what she was doing, but it must've been very important. She paused for a moment, pencil steadied above the paper, and both Keanu and Sandra held their breath, waiting to see her next move. Kamea began to nod her head very slowly, then faster, her little fists pumping and tiny waist shaking to the unknown song in her head. Sandra giggled.
“She’s adorable.”
“Can we … go in and talk to her?”
“Go right ahead,” Ms. Bracamonte urged them smiling. “She’ll be happy to meet you I’m sure.”
The children gradually hushed as they stepped into the room. They knew that when unfamiliar adults entered the room, it meant potential adoption. Already Keanu could see the children becoming more vocal, giggling and showing how well-behaved they were with each other. He tried to ignore them because already he wanted to take them all home. A foster facility, even as professional and loving like Olive Crest, was no match for a real home with a family.
“Hi,” he said as he knelt next to Kamea, regrettably hearing his knees crack. He was getting old. Sandra sat down in a chair next to him, hoping it would not break under her weight. “What are you doing?”
“Writing my name,” she said proudly before going back to what looked to Keanu like a series of vertical and horizontal lines as well as a couple circles. He looked at Sandra, who grinned.
“You’re doing a great job,” she assured her leaning forward to hear the girl’s quiet voice better. “What’s your name?”
“Kamea. Do you have any kids?”
Keanu smiled. “No, not yet.”
“I like families with kids.”
“So you have someone to play with?” he asked.
“Yeah.” she pushed the tub of crayons his way, clearly tired of talking. “Wanna draw?”
“Sure.” Keanu selected a black crayon and, self-conscious of his drawing abilities, began to sketch a nondescript shape. He hadn’t gotten far with it before Kamea pushed aside her own scribbles and was over his with other crayons.
“What do you think it looks like?” Keanu was trying to remember how his niece was at this age, to help him talk and interact with Kamea. He’d probably only been around her once at that age, and could remember nothing more than his back aching from carrying her around.
“A ship,” she said decisively. She snatched up a blue crayon.
“You know, I’m pretty good with water.” Kamea looked at Sandra for a moment, deciding if she was trustworthy with such an important job, before handing over the crayon. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll make a flag?”
“Okay.” Sandra scooted closer, using the crayon to make cursive cs that all connected. They resembled waves of water quite well. “How’s that?”
Kamea nodded approvingly. The three of them continued their creation of a ship sailing on a treacherous sea for the next hour; two months later Kamea moved in.