The Perfect Child

Two years prior to the Prologue, Hannah Bauer sits in the break room at the hospital where she works as a nurse. Her coworker and friend Stephanie complains about her husband’s lack of concern for cleanliness and how he always manages to turn her complaints against her in some way. Hannah and Stephanie are called to return to work mid-lunch after a lost toddler is brought in covered in blood and wearing nothing but a diaper and a strange collar.

Hannah goes to check on a regular elderly patient, Eloise, who is healthy but seems to come to the hospital for company. They talk for a minute, and then Hannah rushes out to help another patient. By four in the morning, Hannah finally gets another break and hears from Stephanie that the toddler is currently being examined for evidence of what might have happened to her. Hannah thinks about how unfair it is that people who neglect and abuse children can have them while she cannot. After fertility testing, she found out she was unable to bear children, and she and her husband Christopher have since been looking into adoption.

Hannah finally gets home, where Christopher is waiting for her with a cup of tea. Christopher works as an orthopedic surgeon at the same hospital as Hannah, and their shifts are often opposites, which makes them cherish their time together more. Christopher rubs Hannah’s feet and asks about her day, which is a routine conversation for them. Because they both work in medicine, they each understand what the other feels and goes through. Hannah is so tired that she forgets to mention the toddler. The conversation shifts to the adoption process, which is proving more difficult than Hannah expected. As Christopher leaves for work, Hannah remembers to tell him about the child who was admitted that night.

Christopher has just finished a difficult surgery when the chief of surgery, Dan, comes in to tell him about the child who was found. Dan explains that she calls herself Janie and was found covered in both new and old injuries. She is malnourished and dehydrated, as well as covered in filth. Dan is upset as he talks about Janie, but Christopher is intrigued and excited to be the one to help. Dan takes Christopher to see Janie, and Christopher is shocked when he witnesses her frail and vulnerable state. Janie looks up with big blue eyes and smiles at Christopher; she asks if he is going to “fix” her, and he promises he will.

Christopher comes home disturbed by what he witnessed, feeling the same sense of injustice that Hannah felt when she first heard about Janie. Christopher explains that Janie’s bones were broken in several places and didn’t heal properly, so an entire surgical plan will need to be laid out. Janie is being kept in the geriatric ward of the hospital due to concerns that someone might come looking for her. The subject shifts back to adoption again, and Christopher and Hannah decide to sign up for a seminar on international adoption together.

Piper recalls meeting Janie after being assigned to her case. Piper found Janie in the hospital bed, starving and badly injured but seemingly not upset or distraught by her circumstances. This surprised Piper, who expected to find Janie in a state of distress. The police officer, Ron, asked Piper whether anyone had thought about whether Janie’s parents might be hurt, too, and Piper admitted that everyone assumed they were the culprits.

Christopher asks Hannah to come with him to tell Janie about her surgery, but Hannah refuses, knowing it will just upset her. Christopher goes to talk to Janie by himself instead and tells her he is the doctor who will fix her bones. He explains that she will be asleep during the surgery but that her arm is probably going to hurt afterward. Christopher tries to be comforting toward Janie, calling her “sweetheart” and telling her everything will be okay. He promises to get her a purple cast since that’s her favorite color.

On the day of the surgery, Christopher comes to take Janie to the operating room. She brings her favorite dinosaur toy with her, which Christoper later wraps in its own cast to match Janie’s. The surgery goes well, Christopher quickly resetting Janie’s elbow. He finds her in recovery later, brings her the dinosaur, and stays beside her bed while she sleeps. Janie wakes up occasionally to check if Christopher is still there, and Christopher eventually falls asleep beside her.

Hannah is at dinner with her sister, Allison, and Allison’s husband, Greg, waiting for Christopher to arrive. Christopher isn’t usually late, and Hannah is worried that something happened to him. He arrives a few minutes later, apologizing for being late and explaining that he fell asleep next to Janie’s bed. He tries to kiss Hannah, but she turns her head, annoyed with him for making her worry. Allison asks about the surgery, and Christopher happily reports that it went well. Christopher reveals that they were able to figure out Janie’s age during surgery; she is six years old, not a toddler as originally expected.

At home, Christopher cuddles with Hannah and expresses how he still feels concerned and responsible for Janie. He wants to do more for her, so he is going to buy her some markers to color her cast. Hannah tells Christopher he is going to make a great father and looks forward to continuing the search for a child to adopt.

Once Piper knew that Janie was six years old, it opened up new questions. Piper was stunned by how well Janie spoke considering she hadn’t been to school, and found out the exact trailer Janie had lived in. When investigators went into the trailer, they found evidence of a struggle, scattered collars and zip ties, and blood on the walls. They also discovered that the blood on the walls was Janie’s mother’s, not her own, and that it matched the blood on Janie. The landlord of the trailer park knew little about Janie or her mother, Becky, but provided Becky’s social security number, with which Piper learned that Becky was committing fraud on GoFundMe: She had set up several fake accounts claiming Janie had cancer and was living on the donations.

Christopher spends as much time with Janie as he can each day and plays games with her to lift her spirits. He gets uncomfortable when he thinks about her leaving the hospital, even though she is recovering more and more every day and will likely be in outpatient care soon. Christopher wants Hannah to meet Janie before she’s gone and tries to convince her to come see Janie one night. Christopher is amazed at Janie’s resilience and how much she has improved over such a short time, and he wants Hannah to see these things too. Hannah points out that Christopher is “officially smitten,” and Christopher can’t disagree.

Hannah is nervous the first time she meets Janie, and the timing couldn’t be worse. She and Christopher arrive right after Janie eats, which is a time she tends to get upset. They arrive to find her screaming and thrashing around in her bed. Christoper almost instantly soothes Janie with his presence, holding her in his arms to calm her. Hannah is stunned to see how close they are and watches as Christopher keeps Janie still so that her IV can be put back in. When Christopher introduces Hannah, Janie doesn’t look at or speak to her, instead burying her face in Christopher’s chest. She whispers something in his ear that Hannah doesn’t hear, and Christopher suggests coming back another day.

Hannah wants to make a better second impression with Janie but fears that Janie has already made up her mind about her. Still, Hannah goes out and buys several children’s books and brings them with her to meet Janie again. Janie is in a better mood this time, and she sits on Christopher’s lap while she picks out a book to read. As Hannah reads, Christopher slowly slides Janie toward Hannah until they’re all sitting together, and Hannah starts to see what Christopher was talking about.

Christopher gets a chance to talk to Piper to ask whether she thinks it’s a good idea to take Janie out to the park for a few hours. Piper is hesitant to encourage it but unable to say why because of client confidentiality and the ongoing criminal investigation. However, she does reveal that Janie’s mother was killed and that the pool of suspects is large, so she doesn’t think that it’s safe to take Janie out. Christoper tries to argue that Janie needs some time to be a child, but with no success.

At home, Christopher and Hannah are babysitting their nephews, who are twins. The night is chaotic, and Christopher doesn’t have much of a chance to talk to Hannah. Hannah has spent the past several nights reading to Janie at the hospital and has started to bond with her. They continue discussing the possibility of taking Janie out against Piper’s advice, and Christopher adds that a squad car will accompany them if they do. Hannah sees nothing wrong with the idea, and Christopher just wants to do something nice for Janie, whose circumstances he pities.

Janie has to wear sunglasses outside because she is sensitive to the light, and she panics and screams at first when she is asked to get into a car seat. After being restrained for most of her life, she reacts harshly to the idea, and Hannah and Christopher are understanding and patient. They eventually convince her to get in, and the short car ride proves to be an experience of discovery for Janie.

They arrive at the park with a small picnic of yogurt and pureed peas (specifically chosen for Janie’s special diet). Janie runs off at first, but Christopher retrieves her, and Hannah watches as Christopher plays with Janie and takes her down the slide. She thinks about how much she wishes she could have given Christoper a child. Hannah worries about what will happen to Janie and if she will end up in the foster care system for her entire childhood. She wonders if Janie will ever recover from her trauma and what more she and Christopher can do to help.

The other police officer, Luke, asks Piper what her first impression of the Bauers was. She describes Christopher as being extremely close to Janie and a solid caregiver who brought Janie home somewhat impulsively and was unconcerned about her history’s potential impact on her. Hannah was just as eager to adopt Janie but more realistic about what that might entail.

Hannah talks to Allison about her thoughts on taking Janie in until she finds a permanent home. She suggested the idea to Christopher, who was instantly on board. Hannah worries that Janie may otherwise end up lost in the system, but Allison is concerned that Hannah is unprepared to care for a child with Janie’s history. Nevertheless, Hannah is looking forward to being able to give Janie some time to heal and just be a child.

Before taking Janie home, Hannah and Christopher have to be interviewed, asked about their entire personal histories, and given a home inspection, which Hannah spends hours cleaning for. After a long day, Hannah expresses her fears that things won’t work out, but Christopher assures her that everything will be fine.

Piper describes the Bauers as being just the sort of loving parents that anyone would want to be foster parents. They had no ulterior motives and just wanted to help. When she went to talk to Janie in the hospital one day, she found Christopher curled up with Janie on her hospital bed, both of them sleeping soundly. Piper made up her mind in that moment and wrote a recommendation for the Bauers to take Janie home as temporary foster parents.