#fostering

[roswellsoup]

part 1/2

[zemissinglinkus]

So... Uh... I'm now the mother of these two critters???

They were found at my apartment complex, and the mom got spooked after being found. We think she tried to get them at least twice but got interrupted, then never showed after that. It got to about 10:30pm at night and it's just too cold for these wee things to be outside on their own... Especially when they're not much older than 1.5 weeks. Their eyes are still mostly shut but starting to open a little.

I've never fostered before, and never bottle fed a kitten. Did all that and more today.

The darker smaller one i think is a girl, so tentatively naming her Lily. The bigger and lighter colored tabby seems to definitely be a boy, so naming him Leonard.

Man. What a wild day. Wish me luck y'all.

[lestappenforever]

ATTENTION!

I'm getting a new foster kitten on Friday.

He is six weeks old and all black.

His name is Pelle.

I need everyone to lose their minds over this.

[bookishfreedom]

it’s about time i take a cue from Boxcar and jump headfirst into my sapphic september TBR

[leannashort]

Be Still, My Heart (Chapter 1)

Loving Jack was easy for Robby. It was like breathing air itself; it came naturally. He needed it, and he needed him. It may have taken Jack a while to realize the same, but once he did, they were like the sun and the moon. They were amazing in everything they did in solitude, constantly drawing people's attention, but when they were together, they were extraordinary.

They didn't go around fucking each other, well, at least in the beginning, they didn't, but there was a genuine bond off the bat. They were both attending physicians and were both alone. They weren't getting any younger, and at some point, they said fuck it and became roommates.

It was October of 2018 when Robby proposed the idea, fresh out of his four-year relationship with Janey. Jack didn't say yes immediately, but he considered it. He pondered for a while on it, and had been alone for 5 years by now, his wife tragically dying in a car accident on July 4th of 2013 from a stupid, reckless driver. It became another reason for him to hate the day.

Jack had tried to get back into dating earlier that year, attempting to find somebody to love, but after many failed attempts, he gave up. Nobody would compare to his wife, who wasn't even his soulmate, but that's what made their relationship so good. It wasn't a destiny chosen for them; it was love. A love that gave them 13 years of marriage, and nobody could even come close to how amazing his wife was. So, having given up on finding love or his mate, he decided that living with Robby would be convenient. They had been co-workers for eight years, and friends for seven of those years. It only made sense for them to become roommates, so Jack said yes.

It didn't take long for them to realize that living and suffering together was easier than suffering alone in the overwhelming silence. They didn't see it as a relationship to begin with. No, they viewed it as a companionship based on a mutual understanding that they were both broken in ways they felt nobody else, but each other, understood.

However, after about a year or so of living together, the conversation about emergency contacts came up, and they both realized they didn't really have anyone else in their lives. At least, not anybody they trusted enough to make the right decisions should something ever happen. So they decided to choose each other as their emergency contacts because it was a logical thing to do. They were both doctors and knew more than anyone the importance of their wishes without emotions getting in the way.

After about two years of living together, things began to change. They both had a shitty shift and got drunk, and things sort of just snowballed from there. Next thing they know, they both wake up in Robby's Alaskan king-sized bed, naked, and utterly sore. Robby looked over and found Jack sleeping next to him, hickies over his neck and collar, lip swollen from Robby biting it, and light bruises on his hips where Robby had his hands while utterly destroying Jack. Robby, on the other hand, also had a hickey on his neck and collarbone, and his body was definitely sore, which meant he wasn't just giving, he was receiving.

Jack was no heavy sleeper, but right now, he was having the best sleep of his life while Robby lay there contemplating everything. A million thoughts are swirling in his mind. Did we actually sleep together? Obviously, but did he like it? Screw that, did I like it? I don't know, I mean, it felt good, and it's been god knows how long since I had sex, but we were drunk. It doesn't mean anything. God, Jack's gonna hate me for this.

His thoughts were interrupted when Jack shifted onto his side. The longer he stayed there, the more he found himself at peace and gravitating to Jack, his arm eventually snaking onto Jack's waist. Robby's hand was resting on Jack's stomach with ease. Jack didn't stir. He typically would, given that he's a light sleeper, but tonight was different. Tonight, it seemed the exhaustion caught up to him.

"You awake?" Jack muttered groggily.  Robby let out a low hum. "Are you alright?" Jack questioned.  Robby hums again.

"You know I'm gonna need a little more than a hum, Michael," Jack noted. Robby hummed once more, earning an eye roll from Jack.

"Do you wanna talk about it now or later?" Jack asked. 

"Later," Robby murmured, his arm subconsciously tightening around Jack. "Do you wanna just lie here for a while?" Jack offered. 

"You talk too much," Robby told him, eyes finally opening.

"I don't remember you minding last night," Jack shot back, a smirk tugging on his lips. Robby's face flushes bright red, and he lets go of Jack, turning over on his side, earning a soft groan from the other man. It was at that moment that Robby realized Jack was touch-starved. The two lay there in an oddly comfortable silence. After a moment of contemplation, Robby sighs, rolling flat on his back.

"Do you hate me?" Robby questioned.  "No," Jack replied, silence hanging in the air for a moment.

"Do you hate me?" Jack echoed Robby's questions.  "No," Robby admitted.

Jack shifts onto his back, sliding his hand under his head. They lay there staring at the ceiling in silence, silently sorting their emotions. "Did you⎼? " They both began, stopping themselves from finishing the sentence. Jack clears his throat. "You first." He gruffed.

"Did you like it?" Robby questioned.  "I did, and you?" Jack replied.  "Yeah?" Robby admits.

And so the beginning of their relationship began. They went on dates and actually started taking more time off now that they finally had a reason to use it. They mutually decided that they'd both have Christmas and Valentine's Day off, if possible, but would work every other holiday. Robby would always make sure his schedule was clear on Veterans Day so that he could be there with Jack for every moment of it. He always tried his best to have the 4th of July off, but sometimes things don't work out that way. But he always had a few people keeping an eye on Jack to ensure he'd be okay while Robby was at work. At some point, they both mutually decided to get a dog.

The two dated for about 2 years before saying fuck it, and got married in 2023. Their wedding was a simple courthouse one, but they did buy some nice suits and rented out a spot for wedding photos with just the two of them. They kept things low-key, and only three people knew of their marriage. That being Dana, Janey, and, much to Robby's dismay, Gloria.

That was until a hot summer night in June when Jack got punched by a patient. Dr. Parker Ellis was checking Jack's paperwork, looking for an emergency contact to see if Jack had anyone to pick him up. After a few moments, she found Robby's name under significant others.

"Holy shit?!" Ellis said rather loudly, catching the attention of Walsh, who was consulting on a case, and Shen, the night shift attending. "What?" They both said simultaneously, moving over to look at what she was seeing. Their mouths fell slightly agape when they saw Robby listed as Abbot's partner.

"Wait, Abbot's gay?!" Walsh stated.

"I just won so much money," Shen gloated, sipping his Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee.

"Well, this should be interesting." Ellis conceded, grabbing her phone.

----

"Where the hell is he!" Robby exclaimed, storming into the ER.

"He's fine, just sleeping it off." Shen tried to assure.

"And the guy who punched him?!" Robby demanded.

"Got away, but PD picked him up," Shen revealed.

"Bring me to him," Robby ordered Shen.

The attending complies and takes Robby to the room where Jack was sleeping. The blood had long since dried on the collar of Jack's navy green undershirt, and Robby could see the bruise on Jack's face. Robby sighs, unballing his shaky hand, his gaze softening once he sees that Jack is alright.

"How bad was it?" Robby muttered.

"We reset his nose, but he has a small facial fracture. Nothing that needs surgery, but he split his forehead open on a bedside table when he took a tumble, and briefly lost consciousness. We gave him some pain meds, but now he's just sleeping it off," Shen explained.

Robby gave a slight nod in acknowledgement, his hand involuntarily twitching as rage boiled beneath his skin. He had to mentally remind himself not to lose his shit while at his place of employment.

"Do me a favor and don't go spreading the word about Jack and me, not that either of us cares that people know. We don't want to make a big deal about it." Robby told him. Shen nods and goes to leave. "Could you get his backpack and leave it at the nurses' station?" Robby asked.

"Sure thing, cap," Shen replied, leaving Robby alone with Jack.

Robby shuffles across the room and carefully sits on the edge of the bed. He reached his hand out, gently pushing one of Jack's curls back, his thumb lightly swiping over Jack's eyebrow. His hand moves down to Jack's waist, rubbing circles on his side. "Babe," Robby said softly, earning a soft groan from Jack. Robby chuckled, lightly squeezing Jack's hip. "Come on, baby, let's get you home," Robby stated. Jack let out a disgruntled groan and slowly sat up.

Robby slid his arm firmly around Jack's waist, helping him off the bed. "Fucking asshole hit me," Jack grumbled, standing with Robby's help. Robby hums, his arm tightening his hold on Jack's waist. "Caught me off guard, or else I would've beat his ass,"

"I have no doubt about that, honey," Robby agreed. Luckily, they were still able to keep their relationship low-key, much to Shen's disappointment. Truth be told, everyone thought Jack would never move on after his wife's death. Hell, he still wore his wedding band. The only difference now is that he wears his wedding band on his right hand rather than his left.

His left hand now occupied a new wedding band, one that matched Robby's, and despite the matching bands, nobody seemed to put two and two together. Well, until recently. About three months after Pittfest, Jack had moved to day shifts since Langdon was gone, and since Jack was around more often, Mel had begun to catch a vibe.

One day in December, when Jack and Robby were talking, Mel went to Jack for help on the case. "Uh, Dr. Abbot, I need your help on a case," Mel said softly, offering the tablet when she caught sight of their matching rings. "Oh, congratulations, I didn't know you guys were married,"

"Two years. It took two years before someone finally noticed," Jack stated, looking over the information on the tablet. 

"Wait, you're married?!" Santos perked up from the nurses' station, earning an eye roll from both men.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to out you guys like that," Mel apologized hesitantly. 

"It's fine, kid," Robby chuckled.

"Let's go, you can shadow, kid," Jack told Mel, walking off to the patient's room with Mel trailing behind him like a lost puppy. 

The news spread like wildfire, and the week was full of congratulations from the staff, which utterly annoyed the couple, but at least everyone knew they were together.

However, the couple felt incomplete. Something was missing, and that something was a family. Of course, they had each other, but they wanted more, a kid, maybe? They started the process mid-December, but also knew that they'd need to make some changes if they were going to stand out.

So, Abbot moved back to the night shift so that there would almost always be someone with the kid. One of them would almost always be home, which they hoped would give them an advantage. They confided in Dana about their plans, and since she was taking a break from PTMC, she and her husband, Benji, agreed to be backup caregivers.

In late January, they did the fingerprinting process. From there, they began the training process and finished in March. Aside from the training, they had their home evaluated, and their license was approved. Then, a week later, they got the call that changed their lives.

[cowboyjen68]

Hi! I know you’ve said this before but I can’t seem to find it. You mentioned having a long marriage that didn’t work out and that you were fostering. Do you have children (even if they’re adults now) in your life? Are you dating/re-married?

We fostered for roughly 12 years and frankly I would have tapped out after we adopted our first son Rob. We had a lot of kids come and go and it was just so hard to figure out a cut off point. My ex (together 17 years) was kind bad at being a parent, she liked the idea way better than reality.

I ended up with much of the burden while often working a full time and part time job. I home schooled a lot of kids to catch them up so they could join our public school at or near grade level. I took on an enormous amount the paperwork and the majority of the appointments and scheduling. Sadly my wife (ex) was just not that interested in the nitty gritty of parenting and I don't think she went into it with realistic expectations. I DID which is why I did NOT want kids to start with. I know how unpredictable and difficult kids can be. They are little people with issues, personalities and opinions not just these things that you can tell what to do and expect them to fall in line and "look good" to everyone on the outside.

All that being said, I don't regret the kids we adopted. They are my friends as much as kids since we adopted them all older. 4, 7, 8, 10 and 16 were their ages when they arrived at out house. Two are biological to each other and the rest are no relation to each other. They are all now adults, the youngest turned 19 in January this year. 3 sons, 28, 27 and 25 and two daughters 27 and 19. My first adopted and youngest "rent" from me. The youngest does not have to pay until 21 (the deal I gave all my kids) but she helps with the animals and chores. My son pays a reasonable rent and works as a CNA in a rural hospital. All the others live on their own and my oldest daughter has two kids of her own now.

None of my kids, except the youngest, were on good terms with my ex wife when she passed away in late 2019. She was hard to get along with and abusive. There is just no other way to put it. Lots of stuff about her has come out since her death that the kids have held from me and knowing what I know now I would have pushed hard to get her out of my life faster. The reality is we were unable to be legally married so all but my youngest were adopted by her and I was only guardian with little to NO legal rights to the kids should we break up. We were legally married when we adopted my last daughter and the marriage was to protect her from being taken from me and to give my ex health insurance since she rarely held a job longer than a few months and mostly preferred to be a "stay at home mom". Things were not ALL bad but they were not good.

I am single now since 2021. When we split (quietly after our second to youngest turned 19 and graduated) I had a quick fling with someone who approached me and I think I needed the pressure release. I enjoyed that briefly but in retrospect might not have stepped into that situation or at least stepped away faster LOL

I met a wonderful woman and fell deeply in love in 2019 and in 2020 I knew being with her was the relationship with the most mutually shared love and respect I had ever experienced. We broke up, mostly due to circumstances and my inability to shift gears in life. I didn't do what was right to make being together in love and in physical space healthy and comfortable for her. We have remained close friends and for that I am grateful every day.

I am not dating right now. My focus is on a plan to lower my debt, keep my home and land and make sure that it is sustainable for the long run, for me and the legacy I will leave behind when I pass it to the right person. My heart is just not ready and I am okay with that.

[skygenders]

Taking care of neonatal kittens ages me rapidly like what the fuck do these tiny fuckers got against a regular poop schedule. POOP DAMMIT