Another Foster (Private)

[justagirl4fun]

"That's not true, Kaley! You're a very smart girl. Look how quickly you learned to use the tablet! Maybe you need a little help using your words, but that's okay. Your brain works a little differently, but that doesn't make you dumb. Now, Rocky doesn't need help using her words, but sometimes she needs help paying attention, or calming down and being quiet. That's because her brain works a little differently too, but Sarah and I still love her. It's okay to be different. It's not bad, or wrong, or dumb," Alex explained, hoping it would make her feel better.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley sighed and nodded. She climbed into Alex’s lap and gave him a hug, hiding her face in his chest. She understood most of what he was saying but didn’t know how much she believed it. She was always told she was stupid and dumb so why wouldn’t it be true? She clung to him for a bit longer before moving her face so she’s be audible. “Cat?” She asked hopefully, wanting to play with her calico critters some more, desperately needing something to occupy her mind. 

[justagirl4fun]

"We can go down and play with your animals," Alex said as he hugged Kaley back. "And if you want, you can watch more Bluey, like I promised."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley shrugged. She wasn’t really able to focus on two activities at a time like watching TV and playing with her toys at the same time. She headed downstairs with Alex and plopped herself down in front of the table with the house. She frowned and scowled when she noticed the furniture had gotten messed up and pieces had fallen to the floor. She worked so hard on that! “Made a mess!” She cried out when she saw the scene, flapping her hands and whining to herself as she rocked back and forth unhappily, trying to fix what had happened and rearrange everything how she had it before. 
 

Sarah took the cookies out of the oven and set them on the stove to cool. She motioned for Alex to come over when she saw him come downstairs, before Kaley had started to get upset. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex got Kaley situated and left the tablet with her in case she decided she did want to use it. He was a little bothered that Rocky was watching TV, he let it slide since Kaley didn't seem interested in resuming her show. "What's up?" he asked Sarah once he was in the kitchen.

Rocky wanted to tell Kaley to shut up, but was determined to stick to her plan. Instead she just turned the volume up - not loud enough to make Alex mad, but enough to drown out the whining.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed when Alex came into the kitchen. She made sure to keep her voice down enough so the girls wouldn’t hear in the living room. “The social worker called earlier.” She started apprehensively. “Kaley’s father is interested in working to get her back, so starting on Saturday she’s going to have visits with him every other week.” She sighed and shook her head, moving the cookies from the baking sheet to a plate, trying to keep herself busy. They’d had little notice of things like visits and such before with previous foster kids, but this was a whole new can of worms. Sarah struggled to think of how they’d prepare for that with it already being Thursday evening.

Kaley wasn’t getting quieter anytime soon, though she didn’t get louder. She was very focused on trying to rearrange everything perfectly, very upset that it had gotten messed up. “Made a mess.” She repeated to herself a few times as she decorated. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Already?  How can that be? She hasn't even been here a week! How could he have possibly made any changes that quickly to get her back? That's bullshit!" Alex said angrily, though he kept his voice low so as to not alarm Kaley. 

[Shy-Diapers]

“He hasn’t really from what I understand, but he’s agreed to and they want to have visits from the start so reunification is easier down the line.” Sarah sighed and shook her head. “I don’t agree with it either but it’s not like we have much of a say. He’s supposedly going to go to AA meetings and take childcare classes.” She was doing her best to stay calm even though she also felt like getting angry. “We can probably try to fight it for the future but I don’t think we can stop this visit from happening.”

[justagirl4fun]

"No, I don't suppose we can do anything about it. At the very least, he could request to have her moved to another foster home, at worst..." He shook his head, not wanting to think about what Kaley's father might do in retaliation. "Okay, so do we tell her now, so she has time to get used to it, or wait til Saturday so she isn't stressing out about it until then?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah shook her head, not wanting to think about the girl’s father. “I’m not sure. You know her better.” She said with a shrug. “How does she feel about him? Would it make her upset or worried to know she’s going to see him? Or will she look forward to it? I think that’s the biggest factor in what we do.” She sighed and sat down at the table again. They’d had numerous foster kids with various opinions on their families of origin and that always played a large part in how they handled visits and reunification. “What do you think is best for her?”

[justagirl4fun]

"She's mentioned her dad once or twice, I think she misses him," Alex said, though he wasn't really sure. "I don't know, I think we should wait. Maybe tell her tomorrow night so she isn't totally blindsided. I think if we tell her now it will just stress her out."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.” She said trying to sound more confident than she felt. Trying to get her mind off the visit for the moment, she poked her head into the living room. “Do either of you two want a cookie? They’re fresh from the oven.”

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky looked over and made grabby hands towards Sarah - of course she wanted a cookie!

Alex grabbed a cookie, sat down next to Kaley, and offered it to her. "You want a cookie?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah raised her eyebrows at Rocky. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet and to just gesture like that. She shrugged it off though, figuring she was still upset from earlier. She brought out a cookie on a napkin and gave it to her. “Here you go kiddo. After your cookie it’s bathtime. You still need to get cleaned up after playing outside.”

Kaley turned to Alex when he came out, having finally gotten her house to an acceptable appearance. She nodded and quickly accepted the cookie from him, shoving almost the entire thing in her mouth at once. 

[justagirl4fun]

By the time Rocky finished her cookie the game was finally over. She held her arms up to Sarah, ready to go take her bath. She hadn't had one since before Kaley arrived so she was looking forward to it.

Alex cringed. "Kaley, please, small bites," he begged, though he knew the request would fall on deaf ears.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah picked Rocky up and carried her up to the bathroom. “Why are you so quiet honey?” she asked while she prepped the tub and helped her undress. The silence from her daughter was immediately noticeable since she was usually so chatty and talkative. 
 

Kaley frowned when she had finished the cookie. She felt bad that she couldn’t do what Alex wanted. She couldn’t help but to scarf down her food because she was still on edge about it being taken. This was especially true with treats like cookies, because she very rarely had access to them. “Sorry” she mumbled the only two syllable word she’s said since arriving. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky wanted to blurt out everything to her mother - this was going to be harder than she thought! But even if she did speak up, it would all come back to Kaley needs this, and Kaley needs that, be patient, be nice, blah blah blah Kaley Kaley Kaley. So she resolutely kept her mouth shut, looking around with that blank expression that seemed to make her father go all soft.

"Don't be sorry, honey, I just don't want you to choke," Alex repeated gently for what seemed like the millionth time. "No one is going to take your food away. You don't have to stuff it all in your mouth at once." He wondered if it was ever going to sink in, like the doctor said, or if he was doomed to repeat it at regular intervals for all eternity.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and proceeded with the bath. She wondered what had gotten into her. “Are you excited for the game on Sunday?” She asked in hopes of a response. 
 

Kaley nodded in acknowledgement of Alex, though she wasn’t sure how to stop it. She went back to playing with her house for a while, slowly starting to get tired. 

 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. She was still disappointed that Alex wouldn't be going, but excited to go with her friend. Suddenly she spotted the bottle of lavender bubble bath Alex had left in the tub after Kaley's bath. She never got to have bubbles! She grabbed the bottle and waved it in Sarah's face, hoping her mother would let her use them.

Alex let Kaley play until he noticed her yawning. "Okay, I think it's time to get ready for bed. " Do you want to bring a couple of your kitties upstairs? "

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed. “Rocky you have to use your words. I can’t understand you.” She lied. She could put together that her daughter wanted to use the bubble bath but she didn’t want her to regress into not talking or using baby talk like some kids did with foster siblings. 
 

Kaley nodded and grabbed the father all black cat and one of the daughter tuxedo looking ones. She followed Alex upstairs making sure she had her mouse, rubbing her eyes and yawning more and more. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky furrowed her brows and thought for a minute. Clearly Sarah wasn't going to give in easily, and she wasn't even sure Alex would care if she didn't talk.But she wasn't ready to give up just yet, so she put the bubbles back with a sigh.

Alex got Kaley dressed for bed. He noticed the smell of stale urine from her earlier accident when he swapped out her underwear for an Underjam but decided now was not the time to say anything and potentially get her upset before bed. Not knowing how long Sarah and Rocky would be in the bathroom, and not wanting to keep Kaley up and risk her getting cranky, he brought her in to brush her teeth anyway. "Don't mind us, just getting Kaley ready for bed," he said as he set the girl down on the counter.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and shook her head. She started finding out the shampoo from Rocky’s hair when Alex and Kaley came in. 
 

Kaley had forgotten about the underjams and was still embarrassed when Alex put one on her for bed, though she didn’t protest or fight it. She let Alex brush her teeth and decided to try to be nice and wave to Rocky from the bathroom counter. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky wasn't thrilled with bath time being interrupted but didn't want to risk angering her father. She waved back and forced a smile, though her eyes didn't crinkle and her dimples didn't pop out the way they did when she genuinely smiled. She glanced up at Sarah, hoping her mother would be pleased with her efforts.

Once Kaley's teeth were brushed he had her sit on the toilet and try to go potty.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah smiled at Rocky, happy that she made an effort to smile at Kaley. She finished washing the girl up and grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped her up in it to dry her off. She led Rocky to her bedroom to get ready for bed. “Pick out your pajamas kiddo.”

Kaley for the first time since arriving managed to completely empty a full bladder into the toilet when Alex placed her on. When she finished, she wiped and stood back up, pulling her underjam and shorts back up. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky grabbed one of her Underjams and a pair of aqua ones piece shortie pajamas printed with yellow shooting stars. She handed both to Sarah - if Kaley could get help with everything, so could she!

"Okay, you want a story before bed?" Alex asked after leading Alley back to her room. "There are more books in Rocky's room if you want something else," he reminded her.