Chapter 1

Margaret O'Hara couldn't believe what she had done. She had never so much as had a parking ticket and now she had committed a felony. Margaret had gone to church that morning and prayed, asking God for a family of her own. She wanted a baby and, at thirty two years of age, felt that she would never meet a man who would give her one. She knew she wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world, but she felt that at six feet tall and one hundred thirty five pounds, even her relatively plain features would be attractive to someone. She was physically fit, had a good job as an administrator in the local hospital and everyone said she was fun to be around. She just never seemed to meet the right type of guy.

That day she had decided to walk the several miles to and from church and had been approaching the intersection around the corner from her apartment when the accident occurred. She was the first to reach the vehicles and, although she wasn't a trained medical professional, she knew in her heart that there was nothing that could be done for either of the adults in the car. She looked in the back seat, and seeing that the little baby was safe, had reached into the car and removed her from her car seat. She didn't know why she did it, but instead of waiting at the scene, she held the baby, gently rocking her back to sleep as she walked away to the safety of her apartment. She had picked up the bag that had been thrown out of the vehicle on impact; and upon examining its contents found a couple of disposable diapers, a bottle of milk, a bottle of water, and an extra set of clothes.

Margaret called in sick the following day. She arranged for the older woman who lived next door to baby sit for her while she shopped for all the things she would need to care for her 'new baby from God.' She told the woman that she was taking in a foster child and would probably need her to baby sit for her for several months, during the day while she worked. Margaret set up a nursery in her spare bedroom.

The next morning she went to work and found out that the parents had died from injuries sustained in the crash, but that the baby had been taken before the mother had died. She went up to the maternity ward during her lunch hour and looked through the glass at the newly born baby.

"Such a shame."

"What?"

I said, "Such a shame about the baby's parents dying like that," said the charge nurse that had come up behind her.

"I heard that the police are looking for the parents' other child. They think that someone took the child from the scene of the accident. I can't imagine who would do such a thing. I asked the detective that had stopped in to see him -- it's a boy you know -- if they were able to find any next of kin. Apparently there's no one that they can find. It seems that both parents were only children with no living relatives. Poor little guy, he's an orphan and so is his sister if they ever find her."

"What will happen to him?"

"Social services will take him, put him into the system, and hope he gets adopted. I don't think they will have any problems, he's healthy, a newborn, and there's no one to come back to challenge an adoption. I just hope they find the sister soon, who knows what kind of pervert took her."

"Yeah, me too."

"I have to get back to my office; you'll send me the paperwork for his birth certificate?"

"Don't I always?"

When she got back to her office, Margaret put together her paperwork for submitting the new births for the last several days for submission to the State Bureau of Statistics. She held the paperwork waiting for one last document, that of a baby boy named John Stevens. Later that afternoon, she received his paperwork, completed what she had to do, and sent out her paperwork. She prayed that no one would notice the additional form that was included; the one for Kathryn O'Hara, born October 24, weight eight pounds two ounces, twenty two inches, Mother – Margaret O'Hara, Father – Unknown.

Three weeks later she received a package in the mail; her daughter's birth certificate and social security number and various pamphlets about taking care of a new born baby and discounts for baby products. "Well Katie; it seems that you are officially mine."