Another Foster (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

“The girls will learn to get along. Maybe if you showed her some more positive attention when she’s nice then she’d act out less. It also wouldn’t hurt to apologize.” Sarah said. She understood her husband’s concerns but felt bad for their existing daughter since she was struggling too. 
 

When it came time for Kaley to get ready to leave, she held up two of her mouse calico critters to Alex hopefully. “Daddy?” She asked him, hoping she’d be able to bring them to show her father. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Okay, I will," he agreed.

"Are you sure you want to bring them? What if they get lost?" Alex asked. They'd seen it time and time again where kids brought things with them for visitation only to return without them. "They're yours, you can do what you want with them, but don't forget them."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley frowned and looked down. Alex didn’t expressly tell her no but she felt bad. She set the mice back in her house and got up to get her shoes and bag on. 
 

“Okay kiddo.” Sarah said once she was dressed. “Let’s brush your hair before we go to the zoo.” She said leading Rocky upstairs to her bedroom. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky followed Sarah upstairs and did her best to hold still so Sarah could do her hair.

Alex waited with Kaley until the social worked picked her up, then went upstairs to Rocky's room. "Hey kiddo, I need to talk to you for a minute," he said, kneeling down in front of her, and felt a pang of guilt as she inched away suspiciously. "Rocky, I'm sorry I hit you, and I'm sorry I hurt your arm. It's wrong to hurt other people, and it's especially wrong for grownups to hurt kids, and I promise I won't do it again. Can you forgive me?"

Rocky bit her lip and stared at the ground for a moment before nodding slowly. 

"Good. Now," he continued, his voice becoming more stern, "I need you to promise to leave Kaley alone. I don't care what she does, no matter how bad, if you don't like it just ignore her. Walk away. No yelling, no complaining, no hitting. Just leave her alone. Got it?"

Rock's face fell. He'd gotten her hopes up only to show once again that Kaley was more important. She sighed but nodded again, wondering if things would ever go back to normal.

He got up and patted her on the head. "Good girl. Have fun at the zoo," he said and went to grab his car keys to go kill some time while he waited for Kaley to return.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah watched on silently as Alex apologized. She hoped Rocky would believe him but only time would tell. She frowned when he brought up Kaley so soon, but progress was progress. She saw her daughter’s expression changed and shook her head. Deciding to change the subject, Sarah spoke up cheerfully. “How about we get going to the zoo and maybe we can get a treat or something later.” She headed downstairs after grabbing everything they’d potentially need for the day ahead of them at the zoo. 
 

At the zoo, Sarah helped Rocky out and headed in, handing her a map as well as grabbing her own. “What do you want to see first?” 

[justagirl4fun]

"I want to see everything," Rocky squealed before pointing to the top of a pole. "Look at the monkey way up there! I bet I could climb that high!"

Feeling lost without Kaley clinging to him, Alex ended up at the toy store. He picked out a couple new Calico Critters families and a treehouse, thinking they might cheer her up if visitation didn't go well. He knew from experience that even under the best circumstances kids often returned from visitations diets ghosted and hoped Rocky would remember what he said and keep her distance.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah laughed and made their way to the sloths since that’s specifically what Rocky wanted. “Wow! Maybe you’ll have to try that out at your rock well!” She said seeing the monkeys. 
 

After the twoish hour visit and a 20 minute car ride back, Kaley was returned back to the Jones home by the social worker. Her once neat hair was a mess, and her underwear were wet and on backwards. She seemed distant and somehow quieter than usual. She held her ratty backpack loosely in her hand, her mouse, blanket and change of clothes still inside. However the crayons were broken and both the activity book and the picture the girl worked so hard on were crumpled, ripped up, and shoved back inside. She stared down at her feet in the doorway, still silent and still even after the social worker departed. 

[justagirl4fun]

After Sarah and Rocky made it around the entire zoo they came to the gift shop. Rocky had been pretty good about not asking for things all day but couldn't resist picking up a few things as she looked around. By the time she made it back to Sarah she was wearing a bucket hat with the zoo logo with a cuddly plush sloth with long arms and Velcro hands hanging around her neck, and had a couple small, glow in the dark plastic dinosaurs in each hand.

"Hey, how did it go?" Alex asked gently, though he could tell by Kaley's appearance that it wasn't good. He could smell that she's had an accident. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah chuckled and shook her head at Rocky. “How about you pick one souvenir and we go get ice cream?” She suggested, wanting to get her daughter something, but not all the things she picked out. Once Rocky had picked out her one item, she got her back in the car. “Did you have fun kiddo?”

Kaley wanted to fight Alex on getting changed and cleaned up, but didn’t have the energy or mental strength. She silently followed him to get cleaned up, her eyes glossy and unfocused. She didn’t seem to even be fully present. She carried her bag along as she followed Alex, not thinking to put it down. 

[justagirl4fun]

After some thought Rocky settled on the sloth. She already had dinosaurs - though none of them glowed in the dark - and could live without the hat. "Yeah! It was so so fun, 'specially the sloths! An' the giraffes, an' that great big lizard, what was that called? It looked like a dinosaur! Oh, an' the penguins, they were so cute!" Rocky rambled on as they headed for home.

Alex made the cleanup as quick and painless as possible, and was quite disturbed to see her underwear was on backwards - he was the one who got her dressed, he knew  they were on the right way when she left. He hoped she'd take a nap so he could call the social worker because something was definitely wrong. "Hey, I got something for you," he said as he led her back down to the living room, where he had the new Calico Critters opened up and the treehouse set up.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah smiled at Rocky in the rear view mirror. “The Komodo dragon?” She asked as she drove. Deciding to extend the trip and spend some more time with her daughter, she asked Rocky. “Do you wanna go to McDonald’s and get some lunch and an ice cream or cookie?” She offered happily. 
 

Kaley’s eyes showed a small hint of excitement at the new calico critters. There was a lop rabbit family and a caramel dog family and of course the treehouse. She didn’t react externally however, simply standing in front of her toys. She didn’t want to, but sat down on the floor by the table they were on, wincing a bit as she did, her bottom being sore. She looked up in Alex’s general direction, seeming to be even less focused than when she arrived a few days prior. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Yeah! I want nuggets!" 

Alex sat down nearby and set the tablet on the table. "Would you like to tell me about your visit?" he asked, though he was sure she wouldn't. (Does she have any bruising or other visible injuries?)

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah smiled and pulled up to the nearest McDonald’s, happily surprised it still had a play place. She got Rocky out of the car and ordered her a chicken nugget happy meal. “Here you go kiddo.” She smiled and sat down with the girl. 
 

(Red/bruised bottom and bruises under where her dress covers, but nothing visible with her clothes on.)

Kaley shrugged. She didn’t even know how to talk about her visit. She slowly swiped through the pictures in front of her on the tablet, pausing at the page with emotions and after a great while pressing “sad”. She had missed her dad so much and was so excited for the visit, but now had more mixed feelings. She relinquished her bag and stared down at the screen, unsure what to say to Alex. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky devoured her meal, eyeing the play place the entire time. "Can I go play?" she asked as soon as she finished.

Alex took the bag Kaley offered and started to unpack it, his blood boiling when he saw the torn picture and book. "I'm sorry you didn't have a good time with your dad. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" he offered.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah glanced at her phone to check the time. She figured Kaley was back by now. “Okay but only for a little while.” She agreed. She wanted to get back and see what was going on, but was happy that Rocky was enjoying herself so much. 
 

Kaley shrugged a bit. She reached for her mouse when she saw Alex unpack it from her bag. Once it was secure in her arms, she scrolled through the pictures on her app. “Dog.” She tapped after a while. She wanted to watch Bluey as a comforting distraction. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky played happily until it was time to go.

Alex found Blush for Kaley. "Do you want a snack, or something to drink?" he asked.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Okay kiddo, time to go.” Sarah said after letting Rocky play for a while and throwing out their trash. She got her in the car and headed home, happy she got to spend some one on one quality time. “I had so much fun with you today!” She said as they pulled up in the driveway. 
 

Kaley shook her head. For once since arriving with the Joneses, she had no desire to eat or drink. She wrapped herself in her blanket and hugged her mouse, absentmindedly chewing on her hands. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I had fun, too!" Rocky squealed as she hopped out of the car, and swung her sloth around as she made her way to the house. "Can we always do something fun when Kaley goes away?"

Alex pulled Kaley's hands out of her mouth and pressed a chewy toy in each hand, hoping to distract her from hurting herself. He really wasn't sure what else to do but hoped Sarah would be home soon so she could keep an eye on Alley and he could call the social worker.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Maybe!” Sarah said, not wanting to make promises she couldn’t keep to her daughter. “I’d like that but we’ll have to see.” She added as she opened the door and took her shoes off. “Hi you two! How’s everything here?” She asked cheerfully, hoping Kaley’s visit went well since she hadn’t heard otherwise yet. 
 

Kaley accepted the chewy toy when Alex gave it to her, gnawing on it as she watched her show. Her trance was broken when she heard the door open and people start talking again, turning her head to see what was going on. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex made his way to Sarah. "I don't think it sent well at all," he informed her quietly. "I need to call the social worker. When she got home her underwear was on backwards - and I know it wasn't earlier because I got her dressed - and she'd had an accident. She has bruises and red marks on her body, the asshole even tore up her activity book and the drawing she made for him!"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah frowned and looked over at Kaley. Her hurt ached for the poor girl. “Want me to keep an eye on her so you can give the social worker a call?” She asked quietly. “Go on play kiddo.” She said to Rocky, not wanting her to overhear. 
 

Kaley frowned when Alex got up and left her alone. She stared at him across the room, but didn’t make a sound. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky glanced in the living room and scowled when she saw Kaley's new tree house and Calico Critter sets. Once again Kaley got all that, while she was only allowed to pick one thing - plus the girl was once again monopolizing the TV and the tablet! Prior to Kaley's arrival she'd been happy with small doses of screen time, generally preferring to play outside or do something active, but seeing the girl with seemingly unlimited access to both was driving her nuts. Of course complaining would do no good but, but she sat across the room and glared at her.

"Yes, that would be great," Alex said and wasted no time dialing the social worker's number. "Yes, I have some major concerns regarding Kaley's visitation," he said once the woman answered.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded and sat down in a chair, close enough to watch Kaley, but not enough to bother her. “Do you wanna watch TV with us? Or we can play a game together.” She suggested to Rocky, seeing her across the room. 
 

Kaley frowned again as Alex left the room. She wanted him back with her but didn’t want to get in trouble by bothering him. She tried to distract herself with Bluey, but did occasionally look around for him. 
 

“Oh?” The social worker inquired upon answering the phone. “She seemed okay when she left. Did something happen after I left?”

[justagirl4fun]

"Can we play Hungry Hungry Hippos?" Rocky asked, not waiting for a response before running off to the playroom to retrieve the game. "I wanna be the green one!"

"Okay? She certainly is not okay," Alex asserted. "Not only did she wet herself, her underwear was on backwards! I got her dressed this morning so I know it was on the right way before she left. And she has bruises that weren't there before. Nothing about this is okay."

[Shy-Diapers]

“Sure! That sounds fun!” Sarah smiled. She sat down on the floor with her daughter. She glanced at Kaley for a moment, wanting her to join, but figured it wasn’t a good time. “Okay I’ll be the yellow one.” She said before starting to play. 
 

“Well accidents aren’t uncommon in-“ The social worker started before getting cut off. “That does all sound quite concerning. I’ll make a note of that and see what the next step will be. Rest assured at minimum though that unsupervised visits will be off the table for a long time. Is this the first time she’s soiled herself since arriving with you?”