Another Foster (Private)

[justagirl4fun]

Alex signed. "It's okay. I won't go anywhere, I promise."

Rocky still didn't believe Sarah, but it was clearly pointless trying to argue with her. She'd believe it when Alex started acting like the dad he used to be but right now she had no faith in him. Tired of thinking about it she changed the subject. "Will you call Sophia's mom now?"

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley buried her face in Alex’s shoulder. She felt a little better at his reassurance and hoped he was telling the truth. 
 

“Sure thing kiddo.” Sarah grabbed her phone and found Sophia’s mom’s number in her contacts and gave her a call. “Hey, this is Sarah, Rocky’s mom. We have 4 tickets to the soccer game this weekend and Alex can’t go so Rocky wanted to know if you and Sophia wanted to come with us.”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex cuddled with Kaley a little longer. "You want to go play now, or watch TV?"

"Oh, that would be great!" Lisa said. "Sophia would love that."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley thought for a minute before she nodded. “TV” she parroted. In the living room she looked through the options as Alex scrolled. “Dog!” She said excitedly when she saw Bluey pass by on the screen. She hadn’t seen the show before but she loved animals and was open to anything that included them. 
 

“Great!” Sarah smiled and worked out the details with Lisa before hanging up and going back to the playroom. “Sophia is gonna come with us on Sunday!” She informed Rocky happily. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex set the TV to play all the episodes. "Do you want a snack, or a drink?" he offered.

Rocky clapped excitedly, feeling a little bit better now that she had something to look forward to even if her dad was being a jerk. "Can we finish watching the game now?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley searched through the pictures on the tablet screen in front of her before finally clicking “juice”. She smiled up at Alex, feeling proud of herself for being able to communicate for once. 
 

“Sure thing, let’s go watch.” Sarah said cheerfully, happy to see Rocky happy again. She headed to the living room with her and frowned when she saw Kaley watching TV. “I told Rocky we could finish watching the soccer game.” She said when she saw Alex. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Good girl! You're so smart, learning how to use the tablet!" Alex praised, then got Kaley a spill-proof cup of apple juice and sat next to her on the couch. He looked over when he heard Sarah. "Well, I told Kaley she could watch TV so I guess she'll have to wait," he replied with a shrug.

Rock's face fell. Then she saw that Kaley still had the tablet. It wasn't fair is she got the TV and tablet! She tugged her mother's arm until she crouched down to Rock's level. "What about the tablet? If she's watching TV can't I use the tablet?" she asked Sarah, even though Alex had said earlier that she wouldn't get to use it for a long time.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley’s eyes lit up in a way they hadn’t before when Alex praised her. She couldn’t remember having ever been praised like that, let alone having been called smart. She clapped and started flapping her hands as she bounced in her seat. When she heard Rocky ask for the tablet she stopped her flapping and bouncing, looking down at the device. She held it out to the girl, wanting to make her happy. 
 

Sarah sighed and shook her head. “Honey, Kaley isn’t playing with the tablet or watching anything on it. She’s using it to talk. You can watch it on my phone or we can go do something else.” She offered. 

[justagirl4fun]

"But it's not f-" Remembering her father's earlier rant Rocky stopped and stared at the floor dejectedly. "Never mind." She decided to go back outside, her elbow jostling the Calico Critters house that still sat on the coffee table as she passed. A few pieces of furniture clattered to the table; one fell to the floor and she kicked it under the couch before hurrying to the back door. She quickly slipped her shoes on and once again slammed the door on her way out.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley frowned and tried to offer the tablet up to Alex. It seemed to be causing Rocky to get mad and upset and she didn’t want that. She would accept going back to not being able to communicate if it meant things were calmer in the house. 

Sarah sighed and followed behind her daughter. “I know it’s hard honey. I promise things will get easier. I’ll talk to Daddy again tonight and try to get him to calm down.”

[justagirl4fun]

"You keep it. Rocky doesn't need it, honey," Alex assured Kaley. "I want you to be able to talk to me."

Rocky ignored Sarah. As far as she was concerned, Sarah was on Kaley's side now too. After all she was the one who said Rocky couldn't use the tablet this time, not Alex, though surely he would have if Sarah hadn't said anything. She climbed in the tire swing hanging from the tree and soon had herself spinning so fast that Sarah was just a blur, her words an incoherent jumble.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley nodded and quickly moved on from the chaos of the tablet. She soon became extremely engrossed in the television, steadily drinking her juice as she stared. As she sat she did start to rock back and forth in place, her mouse in her lap, though unlike when she was usually rocking, she didn’t seem to be in any distress. 
 

Sarah sighed and shook her head. She headed inside and decided to start making dinner and allow Rocky some time to cool off. She decided to make some chicken pot pie, and started prepping the vegetables while the oven preheated. 

[justagirl4fun]

Seeing Kaley engrossed in her show, Alex got up. "I'm just going in the kitchen to help Sarah get dinner ready, okay? I'll be right there and you can come get me if you need anything," he assured her before joining his wife. "Need a hand?" he offered.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley didn’t make any acknowledgement of Alex, too engrossed to process him leaving or talking, though she didn’t seem phased when he did. 
 

Sarah turned to her husband when he entered and nodded. She decided she’d take this opportunity to talk to him about Rocky. “You’re being aggressive and really impatient with Rocky you know.” She pointed out to him, hoping he wouldn’t get too defensive. “You and I both know you’re trying to help Kaley, but you’re hurting the daughter you already have and she notices the difference.”

[justagirl4fun]

"I'm trying to be patient, but what do you want me to do? Just turn a blind eye every time she does something to hurt Kaley? Just let her have her way all the time? I know this is rough for her, but it's a million times harder for Kaley and she needs to understand that," Alex said in a low voice, not wanting Kaley to overhear and panic. 

[Shy-Diapers]

“I get that but she’s not going to learn what you want her to if you’re aggressive and harsh with her.” Sarah pointed out. “You went from giving her your undivided attention to yelling at her and grabbing her by the arm.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m not saying to just let her do whatever, just that there are better ways to go about things that don’t involve lashing out at your five year old.”

[justagirl4fun]

"Okay, fine, I...will try," Alex offered. "But maybe we should reconsider the Ritalin." When Rocky had been diagnosed with ADHD the doctor had recommended the drug but they had opted to try therapy and other strategies to manage the disorder, wanting to avoid the side effects of the drug. "I don't know, maybe it'll...take the edge off. Calm her down a little."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed. “When things calm down and everyone is more comfortable we can reconsider it. I don’t think starting her on a medication with potentially massive side effects would be very helpful right now. You know it can make her mood worse and I don’t think that would do anyone any good.”

[justagirl4fun]

"You're right, of course," Alex conceded. "But I don't know what else to do. If I have to hear it's not fair one more time..." 

[Shy-Diapers]

“I know, trust me I don’t enjoy it either.” Sarah sympathized. “But she’s only 5 and this is a huge change for her. After all, she only found out there’d be another kid in the house a few hours before Kaley arrived. That can’t be easy to process so quickly.”

[justagirl4fun]

"I know, I know. I will try to cut her some slack," Alex offered before peeking in the living room to make sure Kaley was okay.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Thank you.” Sarah said. She just hoped it would actually help Rocky this time. Once she was at a stopping point she went to check on the girl outside. 
 

Kaley was still sitting engrossed in the TV, happily rocking back and forth as she stared wide eyed at the cartoon. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky, having spun nearly to the point of making her self sick, had abandoned the swing, kicked off her shoes, dragged the garden hose over to the play structure where two ruts had formed under the swings, and was now gleefully stomping in the mud puddles she had created. Suddenly she spun around, a guilty expression flashing across her face when she realized Sarah was right behind her. The girl was an absolute disaster. Her once-neat pigtails were a frizzy, disheveled mess. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying, one underlined with a dark bruise from getting hit with the ball earlier. Her yellow romper, already splattered with blood, now had dirt and grass stains, and her hands and feet were coated with a thick layer of mud. "Um, hi," she said sheepishly as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, smearing mud across her forehead in the process.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah stared in shock at the scene in front of her for a while. She was taken aback and trying to think of what to do. She shook her head and sighed, walking to turn off the hose. “Let’s….get you inside and cleaned up before dinner.” She said, deciding not to scold the girl, after all it had been a long rough day, and nobody had been supervising her. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky grabbed her shoes and followed Sarah to the house but balked at the back door - her father would probably have a fit if she tracked mud all over the place.