Sometimes a chance meeting is all it takes to change the course of a child’s life.

For a young victim of child abuse, that meeting came in the form of a police officer showing up at her family’s home.

And it ended more than 30 months later with an adoption no one saw coming, but that seems like it was meant to be.

Arizona police officer Brian Zach is a lieutenant for the Kingman Police Department. In the spring, he got a call for a welfare check on a 2 year-old. After arriving, Kaila was taken from the home, and Brian kept her company while they waited for Child Protective Services to arrive.

“We colored, we snacked … she held my hand and she was just this cute little thing,” Brian said. “Once detectives came, they picked her up and took her to the hospital.”

He said when he went home, he couldn’t stop thinking about the little girl. Divine luck would strike .

“My heart felt for this little girl who was covered in bruises. She just had a very strong spirit,” he told CNN.

She had a skull fracture, brain bleed and a dislocated elbow.”

Criminal charges, he said, were filed against her caretakers.

Kaila sits with Ciera Zach not long after the family took in the child. Photo courtesy of the Zachs

For Brian, meeting Kaila brought back memories of another child in need that sadly wasn’t able to make it out of the situation.

“I had a 13-month-old die. That was hard. It is something that is emotionally scarring that I relive every time I talk about it,” he said. “Look, Kaila could be that little girl but God had a different plan.”

Brian said when child protective services couldn’t find immediate placement for Kaila, he and his wife, Cierra stepped in.

“(Kaila) came with a sippy cup, a bag of clothes that didn’t fit her and that was it,” he said.

But it didn’t take long for the little girl to feel at home with the couple, along with their two older children, Raina and Trevin.

“Within the second day she was calling my wife ‘mom’ or ‘mommy,'” he said. “I was ‘guy’ for a week or two and then when she started preschool she learned who dad was.”

But their time together, the parents knew, was not guaranteed. Kaila was expected to only be with the family for a short time.

“We lived each week not knowing if she was going to go back to her biological parents, or how long we were going to keep her,” Brian said

Our goal was to love and care for this little girl for as long as it happened.”

While waiting, Zach often thought about where Kaila would live long-term.

“If I stopped and thought about it, it would make me sick to my stomach not knowing what this girl’s future would be if she left,” he said, swallowing tears. “Having seen what happens when children are in the system … it made me worry a lot more.”

Kaila poses for the camera. Photo courtesy of the Zachs

But more than 2 years later, all the waiting and the worry went away – the family officially adopted Kaila.

Brian said his path to Kaila was all due to his father and grandfather. Both were officers, as well. He has both of their badges in his office.

“It is very much in my blood. I feel very fortunate to have the career I’ve had and help the people that I’ve helped. You get to see the difference you make, you get to know the people you help and there are very, very kind people here,” he said.

Watch below for a look at this amazing family and their newly-adopted daughter.

Sources: Good Morning America | CNN