justagirl4fun

"There's no pool, no swimming. It's just a sprinkler," Alex assured Kaley. "You can try it if you want to, but you don't have to. We can just play outside." Once Rocky had her swimsuit on she ran outside. Sarah was still setting up so she went over to the mud puddles from the day before. Most of the water had soaked into the ground or evaporated, but there was still some mud there. She stood in it, enjoying the way the cool mud felt on her feet but careful not to get her new swimsuit dirty.

"Good idea." Peter called and ordered their usual dishes. The portions were usually pretty generous so he figured they could share if Rowan felt up to eating. "Hey Iz," he called after the order was placed, "I'm going to pick up Chinese. Want to come?"

Rocky quickly finished eating and hurried upstairs to find her swimsuit. She hadn't even had a chance to wear it yet, no way was she letting Kaley borrow it! Alex sat next to Kaley. "How would you like to go outside and play in the water? It's a nice day." He hoped she would be agreeable, as he was getting a little tired of hanging out inside and didn't want it to become a habit all summer.

Peter shrugged. "Let's just wait and see how things go. At least no one is crying. What do you want to do for dinner? I can go out for takeout if you want," he offered.

Alex wiped Kaley's face and hands and let her go off to play. "I didn't plan anything, I just figured it was a good day for the kids to play outside. The splash pad is a good idea."

Peter watched sadly as Izzy started on the bracelet. That was definitely not something Rowan could do. He'd had such high hopes that the girls would get along. He peeked at Rowan behind the chair but she she seemed content with her doll, so he decided not to push it at the moment. "Well, so much for them getting along," he said when he found Michelle. "Izzy got mad that Rowan spilled the Lite Brite pegs, so they're not even playing together."

"No, I didn't think about that. Rocky should still be able to squeeze into her old one for now, and Kaley can wear her new one until we get her one," Alex suggested. Kaley was taller and longer through the torso than Rocky, but the new suit was a two-piece so he figured it would fit okay. "Yes," he said, turning back to Kaley, "you are a very good girl." Rocky scowled. Here she was, eating nicely with her fork like Sarah wanted, and no one told her she was good.

Peter frowned. "I'm sure she didn't mean to, Iz. Maybe if you asked nicely she would help you pick them up."

Pleased that she had gotten a rise out of her mother, Rocky wiped her hands, picked up her fork, and started eating as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Alex beamed at Kaley. "Good girl. I like how you're eating so nicely!" he praised as he ignored Rocky, determined not to reward her with any sort of attention for bad behavior.

Rowan's lip quivered when Izzy told her to play with something else. She looked around the room and found a basket of doll accessories, and selected a bottle that appeared to empty when tipped upside down. She slipped behind a chair and sat down to feed the little doll she'd brought from upstairs. Peter put Rowan's formula in the fridge and made a note of the name of it in his phone so he could pick up more the next day. Then he went to check on the girls, and found Izzy playing alone. "Hey, kiddo, where's Rowan?" he asked.

Alex got her some juice and sat down. It soon became clear she wasn't a big fan of the sausage. "You don't have to eat that. Would you like more eggs, or something else?" he offered, not wanting her to be hungry or feel like she had to eat something just because it was on her plate. Rocky was secretly pleased when Sarah reacted, but ignored her. Now she wanted to see how far she could go before Sarah got mad. She finished the sausage and reached for another one.

Rowan was huffing and puffing by the time they got to the playroom, but once she caught her breath she knelt down next to Izzy. She had never seen a Lite Brite and was intrigued. After a few minutes she reached for a peg, wanting to try, and ended up tipping the container over, scattering pegs across the floor. "I'll check on them in a few minutes," Peter assured his wife. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Since no one seemed overly concerned about her not talking, Rocky decided to take it a step further. Eschewing silverware, she picked up a sausage with her hand and started nibbling on it. Alex cleaned Kaley up and got her dressed in shorts and a t-shirt since they didn't have plans to go anywhere. He figured he could take the girls outside and let them play in the yard. Once she was ready he carried her downstairs and sat her at the table. "You want milk, or juice?"

Rowan stared wide-eyed at Izzy, a little overwhelmed by the energy the girl exuded, but nodded meekly. Peter ruffled Izzy's hair. "Why don't you show her the playroom?" he suggested. "Just be gentle," he added before grabbing Rowan's meds and heading to the kitchen to put them away. He taped the med list to the fridge so it wouldn't get lost and checked it out. "Looks like she's good til after dinner.

Rocky went to the fridge, selected a bottle of lemonade, and handed it to Sarah before returning to her seat. Alex sat down and pulled Kaley onto his lap, offering her the tablet. "You want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked as he cuddled her.

Rowan nodded and followed Michelle, though she was really struggling by the time they were halfway down the stairs. Any kind of exertion was hard on her heart as it worked overtime to pump blood to the rest of her body. "Good girl! It is starting to get hot, gotta stay hydrated," Peter said, not think much of it. "Are you ready to meet Rowan? She just got here a little while ago," he said when he heard them coming down the stairs.

Alex did his normal morning workout, took a quick shower, and checked on Kaley. He was pleased to see she wasn't hiding this time. "Hey, sweetie, did you sleep well? Ready to get dressed?" he asked, assuming she was wet as usual. Rocky woke up and bounded downstairs, almost forgetting her plan. She was about to ask what was for breakfast before remembering and quickly shut her mouth, quietly taking her seat instead.

"Hi baby!" Peter scooped Izzy up for a quick hug. "How was dance? Did you have fun?" Rowan picked up the doll and reached for Michelle's hand again.

"She'll give in," Alex suspected. "Probably long before Sunday afternoon. You know how much she talks, she can't possibly be quiet that long." He went to his office area to work for an hour or so before heading upstairs himself.

Rowan shook her head. "You can wash them," she said softly before getting up to check out her new room. "Please," she added, remembering her manners. She wandered over to a basket of toys and reached for a little rag doll, looking to Michelle for approval.

"Or maybe she's just looking for attention," Alex suggested. "Let's give it a few days before we get too worked up about it. Worse comes to worst, we'll tell her she can't go to the game if she can't talk and act like a big girl. Maybe that will straighten her out."

Rowan shook her head at the offer of food. She did glance around, curious of her new surroundings, and reached for Michelle's hand. When the girl got up and started walking around with Michelle Peter noticed two damp half moons on the back of Rowan's threadbare leggings that did little to hide a well-used diaper. The social worker had mentioned that she wasn't reliably toilet trained so they had picked up a pack of pull ups the night before. He cleared his throat. "Uh, hon, I think someone could use a little freshening up," he suggested, not wanting to embarrass the child, before heading to the kitchen for upholstery cleaner and a roll of paper towels.

Alex tucked Kaley in and went downstairs, relieved that at least bedtime had gone smoothly.

"Having a medically complex child is...stressful. It can put a huge strain on everyone involved. Dad took off a couple years ago. No contact, no financial support. Mom is struggling financially, overwhelmed, not in a great place, mentally. There are four other children, but a relative agreed to take them in. Getting back to Rowan, the heart defect she has is called hypoplasic left heart syndrome. Basically, the left side of her heart is underdeveloped, and she does have one of the most extreme cases. She's had two reconstructive open heart surgeries already, and should have had a third about a year ago but like I said, mom was just not in a good place to deal with it so that will need to happen sometime in the not so distant future."

Rocky picked a big book about dinosaurs and waited for Sarah to do her hair. While Sarah untangled her curls she flipped through the book to find her favorite dinosaur, stegosaurus. Alex sat next to Kaley and read the book, happy to see her in a good mood. He finished the book and checked to see if she was asleep.