Gay couple say it was 'destiny' to adopt New York subway baby A search across the city began for the boy's mother but despite the efforts of the police and coverage on local news stations, nobody came forward. A few months later, Stewart was summoned to a family court hearing to explain how he had found the baby. To the surprise of the entire courtroom, the judge then asked Stewart if he would be interested in adopting the baby. Stewart had been dating his partner for three years and they had never discussed having a family. Joint adoption by a same sex couple was only legalised in the state in 2010, while same sex marriage was legalised a year later. But Stewart knew it was the right thing to do. I thought: 'Maybe this is destiny, maybe this is divine intervention. This is a gift we're given and how can we say no to a gift?'" said Stewart. Despite the couple's fears of a protracted legal battle, the judge surprised them once again, asking at a hearing held three days before Christmas if they would like to take care of the baby immediately. "And he's been with us ever since," said Mercurio. It was the best Christmas present ever. It was amazing. The couple renamed the baby Kevin. He is now 12 years old and is almost as tall as both his parents. The family had no further contact with the judge until 2011, when they decided to get married after the legalisation of gay marriage in New York. It was Kevin who suggested they ask the same judge to officiate their wedding. After finding her through the court service, she said she would be delighted to. At their reunion, Mercurio told The Times that they had enjoyed catching up with her so much that they had almost forgotten to get married.