TITLE: Heart and Shoulder (16/22)
AUTHOR: Elizabeth (sef7881@aol.com)
PAIRING: Viggo Mortensen/Orlando Bloom
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Exploratory meetings (Orli's POV)
FEEDBACK: To (badly) paraphrase Boromir: "Bring on the feedback!
This writer is thirsty!"
WARNINGS: None
DISCLAIMER: If I knew any of these people, I'd be the happiest girl in
the world. But I don't. So that means this is all pure
fiction, and I don't make any claims that these stories are true, nor
do I make any money off of them. This is all just to satisfy my
demented imagination.
ARCHIVE: Help yourself, just let me know where it's going
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks so much to Lisa for advising me on what the
adoption process is like. Also, a permanent thank you to my
darling Lostiawen for her support, insanity, and beta skills.
DATE WRITTEN: July 4th, 2004. Happy Birthday, America!
"What do you think? Do I look respectable enough?" I fidget
with the collar of my shirt as I look at my reflection in the
mirror. "Leaving the top button open is okay, yeah? I mean,
I don't need a tie . . . shit, maybe I *do* need a tie. Fuck it
all. I shouldn't wear this outfit."
"You need to calm down, Orlando," Viggo says, wrapping comforting arms
around my waist.
"I can't. We're about to meet our adoption case handler for the
first time, and I feel like it's the biggest audition of my life.
If she doesn't like me, then we're screwed."
"Baby, how could anybody not like you?" he asks with a smile.
"She might not," I protest, somewhat feebly. "What if she hated
'Lord of the Rings'?"
He laughs and kisses my neck. "I think you're worrying too
much. We'll dazzle her."
"If you say so, Vig. But I'm still nervous."
"Well, I'll be there to help you out."
"Thank God. Do you have everything we need?"
"It's already in the front seat of the car."
"You're the best," I tell him.
Viggo blushes. "Thanks. Ready to go?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
*****
"Why don't they have anything fun to read here? I can't read
health and automotive magazines forever. And what's taking so
long?"
"We've only been waiting for five minutes," Viggo tells me, sounding
somewhere between being amused and irritated by my chronic
impatience. "I'm sure she'll be with us in a moment."
"Yeah, well this agency came very highly recommended, and I'm not
impressed so far by their uncomfortable chairs and paltry reading
selection."
"Orli, you're way too tense. Maybe you should do some breathing
exercises; didn't you learn those at Guildhall?"
"I'm fine now! I'm calm!" Which is exactly why I squeak
when the door to the waiting room opens and a woman holding a manila
folder steps in.
"Mr. Bloom? Mr. Mortensen?" she asks, looking at the folder and
then back at us.
"Yes, that's us," Viggo replies as he stands up. "I'm Viggo
Mortensen."
I manage to find my feet and get out of the chair. "I'm Orlando
Bloom," I add.
"Nice to meet you both," the woman tells us with a smile. "My
name is Sally Steinman, and I'm going to be your adoption case handler."
We all shake hands and exchange pleasantries, then she ushers us into
her office. I'm expecting to sit in a chair and face Sally across
an imposing desk, but instead she has me and Viggo sit on a couch while
she plops down in a large armchair. "We brought the paperwork
that the agency requested," Viggo says, breaking the silence.
"Thank you," Sally laughs. "Most people are usually so nervous
that they forget it at home."
"I might have forgotten it," I admit. "Viggo's the one you have
to thank for putting it in the car ahead of time. I really was
nervous about this; I mean, I still am. But I'm excited,
too! This whole thing is so incredible, and I just can't believe
that we're finally starting the process of adopting, you know?"
Shit. Just babble your pretty little head off, Orlando.
That's one way to make a good first impression.
"Yes, I know." Sally smiles at me. "I've helped many people
become parents over the years, so I understand what you're
saying. This is an extremely emotional time for everyone
involved."
Whew. She's cool with the fact that I'm jittery as all
hell. That makes life a lot easier. "So, uh, would you like
the paperwork?" I ask, trying to restore my fractured composure.
"It's right here." I pull out everything that's been requested of
us and hand it to her.
"Thanks, this is wonderful." She leafs through the various papers
that we've brought, and I shift on the couch, still nervous no matter
how much I try to calm down.
"Is everything in order? Are we missing anything?" I blurt
out as she reviews our materials. Viggo puts his hand on my knee
in an effort to make me relax; my leg is bouncing so much that he soon
pushes it firmly against the couch and *forces* me to stop my nervous
tic. I can't help it. I'm pathetic in situations like this.
Sally gives both of us another reassuring smile. "No, nothing's
missing. Your forms are all complete."
"I just worried because, you know, there were so bloody many forms to
fill out."
"Well, we need to have very thorough documentation of our adoption
applicants," she explains. "Everything from tax returns to birth
certificates to proof of residency."
"All you're missing from us is our sperm count, huh?" Fuck, just
shut your mouth! You're not scoring any points here, Bloom.
To my amazement, Sally laughs at my foot-in-mouth joke. "I know,
it seems like that. But we won't make you submit *that*
information."
"So what happens now that we turned in the paperwork?" Viggo
asks. It's the first thing he's said in several minutes.
"I'm glad you asked that question, Mr. Mortensen. By the way, can
I call you two Viggo and Orlando?"
"Of course," Viggo tells her.
"Good. Please call me Sally," she says. "What happens now
is that I review your paperwork, along with another case handler.
Then the agency performs a background check on both of you."
"A background check?" I yelp. "We're not criminals!"
"I'm sure that you're not, Orlando, but we need to be extremely careful
about whom we choose to place children with. It's a routine
process, and has nothing to do with either of you."
"Okay. And you won't find anything on our records," I inform
her. "We're both squeaky-clean."
"That's good to know," she chuckles. "And if you *do* pass the
background checks, we'll want to have interviews with some people who
know you. If, after all of that, we think you're a good
candidate, then we'll clear you for adoption and start matching you
with a child."
"Wow, so it's a long process, yeah?"
"We try to speed it along, but there's a lot of red tape to sort
through. On average, it takes about six months just to be
cleared. There are always various factors that can help or hinder
the proceedings. For instance, from glancing at the paperwork I
can see that Viggo has a son, and that could potentially help a great
deal. Evidence that Viggo is already an excellent parent would
bolster your case."
"He's an amazing dad," I tell Sally. "If you need to interview
somebody, then talk to Henry."
"Henry is your son?" she asks Viggo.
"Yes. He's sixteen," Viggo says. "I'm sure that he'd be
willing to come in for one of those interviews that you mentioned."
"We'll work out the interviews later on in the process," she
explains. "You should know, however, that we have a policy about
only interviewing adults, so we couldn't speak to him. But I'm
sure that you have plenty of other people who could vouch for you."
"Yes, but they might scare you with their insanity," I mutter.
"I doubt that," Sally laughs. "I'm sure that your friends and
family are of sound mind, despite what you think."
"You can make up your mind about that after you meet them," Viggo
snorts.
"Well, I'm looking forward to that," she says with a smile.
"But for now, you need to make sure that we're not axe murderers,
right?" I giggle nervously. My chances at parenthood could lie in
this woman's hands, and even though she's as nice as could be, that
jittery feeling has come over me again.
"Something like that," she chuckles. "It takes about six weeks to
do the full background check on both of you; it could potentially be
longer, seeing as one of you was born in another country. But I
must say that I have a good feeling about your chances."
"Y-you do?" I stammer.
"Yes. I can't promise anything, but I'm going to do my best to
make this work for you two. After all, that's my job."
"Thank you so much! Fuck, if I get to be a father, it'll just be
. . . well, I don't have words. I can't tell you how much this
means to me; how much it means to both of us." More
babbling. I am so pathetic.
Sally fights back a grin. "I think I can see how much it means to
you and Viggo. And I'll do everything I can so that you can bring
a child into your home."
"Thank you," Viggo says, his voice thick with emotion. His arm is
suddenly around my waist, and my fingers reach down to grasp his hand,
squeezing it in a silent gesture of love.
"You're welcome," she replies. "It's my job, and I love doing it."
"Will you ring us when the background checks are finished?" I
ask. Before I can give her a chance to answer, I keep
talking. "What should we do now? Is there anything we *can*
do?"
"The answer to your first question is yes. I'll definitely call
when the background checks are done," Sally informs us. "I'll
also call to update you in a few weeks, just so we can touch base."
"That sounds good," Viggo nods.
"And if anything negative comes up during the check, I'll call you as
well. Naturally, I'm hoping that I won't have to make *that*
call."
"Yeah, so are we," I sigh.
"To answer your other two questions: yes, there are things that you can
do. You should take this time to figure out who you would want us
to talk to if you are cleared. I'd come up with a list of six or
seven names, just in case some people feel uncomfortable talking to us,
or are unavailable. The interviews must be conducted in person,
so keep that in mind."
"Okay. We'll start thinking of candidates tonight."
Sally laughs. "The most important thing to do is to simply relax
and keep living your life. Don't obsess about this. I
know that might sound like an impossible task, but it's a crucial
one. This won't happen overnight, and you'll both need to be
patient. That's why I tell everyone to try and relax."
"I think that's very sound advice," Viggo says. "It'll be tough,
but we'll try not to be too tightly wound."
"Good. In the meantime, I'll look over your folder and get the
ball rolling. And remember, if you don't hear from me for a few
weeks, that's a good thing."
"Okay," I say with a nod.
"If you have any questions, feel free to call," she offers.
"Otherwise, I'll be speaking to you in about three weeks if all goes
well."
"Thank you," I tell her again.
"Thanks," Viggo echoes.
"Oh, it's my pleasure."
Sally stands up, and Viggo and I follow suit. After shaking hands
and exchanging our goodbye pleasantries, she shows us to the
door. I can't help the smile that's on my face as we walk through
the waiting room and get onto the empty lift.
"What are you grinning about?" Viggo asks, a smile of his own beginning
to form.
"Um . . . it's just that I was such a mess when I walked in there, but
she was so nice and I think that I understand things so much better
now. I mean, sure, there's no guarantee that we'll be cleared,
and if we are, it could take ages to actually adopt a child. I'm
still a bit nervous, because that's probably natural, but I feel
optimistic about this whole thing."
"I'm so glad. You really were a mess of nerves earlier; I was
actually worried." His eyes are filled with loving concern.
"It was a relief when you started to open up and talk in there."
I hug him tightly, burying my head in his neck. "Do you think I'm
a fool to be optimistic? After all, it's really early in the
process."
"You could never be a fool, Orli. I think that you're right to be
optimistic about this, especially since you're staying realistic at the
same time."
The lift arrives at its destination with a pinging sound, and we walk
through the lobby without paying anybody else much mind. I've got
too much going on in my head to notice if anyone is looking at me and
Viggo like they normally do. I'm not tense like I was when I came
into this building; I'm oddly calm despite the fact that my chances of
becoming a father are in someone else's hands.
Perhaps that's because we've taken the first steps. We got off of
our arses and researched the agencies, then contacted them, and then
finally filled out paperwork before coming for the initial meeting
today. And it feels damned good to realize that we've embarked on
the journey to become parents together. Will it be easy or smooth
or quick? Probably not. But as long as we're able to bring
a child home when all is said and done, that's all that truly matters.
"You're miles away from me," Viggo remarks. We've reached the
car, and he curses as he fishes for his keys in his jeans pocket.
"I'm just happy," I say as I slide into the passenger seat.
"You're just happy? That seems like a pretty big deal to me," he
teases.
"Well, I'm happy about what we did today," I explain. "It's a
huge step forward."
"Yes, it is." He takes his hand off of the steering wheel to
squeeze my thigh. "It makes this whole thing real, doesn't it?"
I nod. "Exactly."
"We'll have our child, Orli. I swear to you that nothing will
stop that. If we end up having to go to ten agencies and waiting
for ten years–"
"Vig, don't say that!"
"This is our dream," he says firmly. "No matter what happens, we
can't let go of it. We *won't* let go of it."
"Do you promise?" I whisper, feeling so lucky to have this man as my
partner.
"Yes, love. I promise that we'll see this through," Viggo tells
me, a smile on his beautiful face.
And somehow, that's all the assurance that I need.
Heart
and Shoulder Part 17
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Viggorli
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