Another Foster (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

Noticing Rocky stop, Sarah caught on to what was wrong. She grabbed and turned the hose on again, quickly rinsing off her daughter’s shoes and feet before turning it off. “There, just leave your shoes outside the door so they’ll dry.” She headed inside and upstairs with Rocky. “Do you want a bath now or just a quick clean up and a bath after dinner?”

[justagirl4fun]

"After dinner," Rocky decided, knowing it would be rushed if she had her bath now. "What are we having? Chicken nuggets?" she asked hopefully, deciding to press her luck a bit since Sarah didn't seem to be mad.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded and grabbed Rocky some play clothes to wear in the meantime. She wiped the girl’s face off with a warm washcloth and had her wash her hands. “We’re having chicken pot pie tonight. We need to get more chicken nuggets next time we go shopping.” She calmly informed her daughter. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Oh, okay." Rocky didn't mind, she liked chicken pot pie just fine. "Can you get the dinosaur nuggets this time?"

With Sarah occupied, Alex rejoined Kaley on the couch. "How's your show? You like it?" he asked.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah chuckled as she helped Rocky into her clean clothes. “I’ll see what we can find kiddo.” She said before heading back downstairs with her. 
 

Kaley jumped a little when she heard Alex. She had been so engrossed she didn’t notice him leave or come back. “Like it.” She echoed with a nod, pointing to the TV. “Dog!” She repeated from earlier. 

[justagirl4fun]

"That's right, Bluey and her family are all dogs. Do you like dogs?" Alex asked.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley nodded. She loved all sorts of animals, though she didn’t know how to really describe that. “Like it.”

Sarah ruffled Rocky’s hair as she headed back to the kitchen. She finished up prepping dinner and got everyone’s plates ready, but ended up stepping away into Alex’s office space to take an incoming call from Kaley’s social worker. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I think dinner is ready," Alex said and turned the TV off. He brought Kaley to the table and set the tablet on the counter so it would be safe in case of spills. He didn't want to leave her alone at the table but strained to hear what Sarah was saying, curious about what was going on.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley frowned when she was suddenly brought to the table. She didn’t enjoy switching tasks so quickly. “Dog!” She whined softly at Alex. She was more than happy to eat, but still didn’t like being taken away from her new show. 
 

“Okay, I understand, thank you.” Sarah finished with a sigh. She came back out and ushered Rocky to the table. “What do you want to drink kiddo?” She asked Rocky in a cheerful voice, trying to avoid stressing the girls out by letting on that she was stressed and concerned. 

[justagirl4fun]

"It's time to eat. You can finish watching after dinner," Alex assured Kaley. He glanced at Sarah with raised eyebrows when she returned. Despite her cheery facade he could tell she was worried.

"Fruit punch!" Rocky declared as she dug into the pot pie. She wasn't usually allowed sugary drinks but had sweet talked Alex into buying it the last time they had gone to the grocery store.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley frowned a bit but quickly got distracted when she had food in front of her, shoveling food into her mouth with her spoon. 
 

“Sure thing!” Sarah said cheerfully. She got Rocky some fruit punch as requested and gave Kaley some milk in a spill proof cup. Noticing her husband’s look she mouthed “later” to him and returned the beverages to the fridge before sitting down to eat. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I promise you can watch after dinner," Alex repeated, seeing Kaley's frown, which caused Rocky to frown in return. How was she supposed to watch the rest of the game if Kaley was still hogging the TV? She was afraid of setting Alex off again, though, so she kept her mouth shut. 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley didn’t make any acknowledgement of Alex, not caring much about the TV when she had food to focus on. When she finished her plate she squirmed a bit, staring down. She wanted to ask for more but she’d never done that before and was still a little worried about asking for something like that. 
 

Trying to make conversation at the dinner table, Sarah spoke up. “Rocky is going to take Sophia with us to the game this weekend.” She cheerfully to Alex. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Oh good, that should be fun." Alex forced a smile, but he had a knot in his stomach worrying about what Sarah would have to say later. Then he noticed Kaley fidgeting. "Honey, are you okay?" He grabbed the tablet and handed it to her in case she wasn't able to tell him what was wrong.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Okay.” Kaley parroted back to Alex without much thought. She fidgeted anxiously as she stared down at the tablet. This was a first for the girl. She knew how to ask now, but she’d never done it before. After a few minutes, she hesitantly tapped “more”. She winced a bit in anticipation, before looking up at Alex when she realized nothing bad was happening. 

[justagirl4fun]

"The tablet doesn't belong at the table," Rocky said, repeating the phrase she'd heard numerous times from her parents.

Not wanting to break his promise to Sarah, Alex ignored Rocky, instead keeping his attention focused on Kaley. "You want more food?" Once she confirmed, he put another serving on her plate.

[Shy-Diapers]

“That’s why Daddy put it on the counter until Kaley needed to talk.” Sarah said as the tablet was put on the counter again. “Kaley only used it for a little bit to talk.” She said gently, relieved Alex held his tongue. 
 

Kaley smiled and relaxed a little bit, starting to shovel the second serving of food into her mouth. Only after she had finished that serving did she start to down her milk. 

[justagirl4fun]

"What if I want to use it to talk?" Rocky asked. Nothing about the situation made sense to her. Kaley could talk - Rocky had heard her! So really it was quite stupid that she got to hog the tablet - at the table, even! - to talk when she could just talk for real.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed. She didn’t know how exactly to explain Kaley’s speech delays to Rocky. “Honey you don’t have any problems talking to us. Your brain thinks of what you want to say and then you can just say it, just like mommy and daddy’s brains work too.” She tried to explain, hoping it was digestible for a five year old. “Kaley’s brain works a little differently. Her brain thinks of what to say but sometimes she can’t talk and say what she wants to say. Kaley can only talk a little bit with her voice, so she uses the tablet to help her talk more. You don’t need that extra help.”

Kaley squirmed and fidgeted uncomfortably hearing Sarah and Rocky talk about her. They think I’m stupid… She thought to herself, climbing off her chair and shuffling away towards her room, grabbing her mouse and blanket on the way there. 

[justagirl4fun]

It still didn't make much sense to the five-year-old, but it did give her an idea. Maybe if she stopped talking her parents would have to let her have the tablet. She shrugged and finished her dinner without another word.

Alex grabbed the tablet and followed Kaley. He could tell she was upset, and it took every bit of restraint he could muster not to blow up at Rocky. He did shoot her and Sarah an icy glare before heading upstairs to find out what was wrong. 

"Hey, you want to tell me what's wrong?" Alex asked, offering Alley the tablet when he got to her room.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and figured the girl was at least accepting her explanation. Seeing Alex run after Kaley she decided to start cleaning up the kitchen and dining room. Trying to distract herself, she got out some break and bake cookies and prepped the oven for them. 
 

Kaley climbed onto her bed and hid her face in her pillow. She shook her head and put her blanket over her head. She curled up and clung to her mouse. She could understand everything everyone said about her even if she didn’t always respond to it, despite everyone assuming she couldn’t understand much. She sniffled and mumbled into her pillow “no more”. If she didn’t use the tablet anymore then maybe Sarah and Rocky would like her more. 

[justagirl4fun]

With Sarah occupied and Alex upstairs, Rocky slipped away to the living room. No one had said she could watch TV, but no one had expressly said she couldn't either, so she found the soccer game hoping to finish watching it.

"No more what, honey?" Alex asked. "The tablet? But it makes me very happy when you use it. Don't listen to Rocky, okay? Nothing she says matters. Don't pay her any attention."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah heard the TV on in the living room when she was putting the cookies in the oven. She took a deep breath and decided not to say anything. Things were relatively calm right now and she already had enough to worry about. 
 

Kaley sighed and shook her head. It didn’t help that she had no idea what to call Sarah and Alex. She knew their names but she wasn’t used to calling adults by their names, and without any extra configuration and adding custom words, her AAC app only had “mom” and “dad”. But Alex wasn’t her dad, she had a dad and she missed him. “Bad” she mumbled into her pillow, struggling to figure out how to tell Alex that she felt stupid. She crawled over to Alex and leaned against him. She pointed to her head and repeated herself “bad”.

[justagirl4fun]

"No, Kaley, you are not bad. Not at all. I know Rocky isn't being very nice, but that's not your fault. She's being bad. You're not. You're a good girl, and Sarah and I like having you here. And Rocky will, too, once she gets used to you being here."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley sighed and shook her head. Alex didn’t understand what she was saying and she didn’t know how to express it. She stared at the tablet in frustration for a good while. “No” “smart” she pressed after a lot of thinking, desperately hoping he’d understand her this time. She also didn’t know how much she believed that Sarah liked her, if she thought she was stupid and her brain didn’t work right, then how much could she enjoy the girl’s presence in the home.