Another Foster (Private)

[justagirl4fun]

Alex grabbed one of Rocky's hair ties from the counter and secured Kaley's hair in a bun, since it didn't need to be washed again so soon. He put her in the tub and gave her a quick wash, then wrapped her in a towel and brought her back to her room. He opened a drawer to show her a few outfits and let her pick the one she wanted. "Are you ready for some breakfast?" He asked once she was dressed. "Smells like Sarah is making pancakes. Do you like pancakes?"

"Ooo, yay, the park!" Rocky squealed before finishing her breakfast. Even though she had a pretty decent play structure in the back yard she still loved going to the playground.

[Shy-Diapers]

After allowing Alex to bathe her again, Kaley picked out a lavender sundress and gave a small nod when he asked about breakfast. She didn’t know if she was hungry or not in all honesty, but not knowing the next time food would be offered, she wasn’t going to refuse. She followed Alex down to the dining room and as soon as she was at the table, she started scarfing down the pancakes with her hands, not bothering to use a fork. 

“We’ll just have to see how Kaley is doing.” Sarah reminded Rocky before he saw Alex and Kaley down. “Rocky wants to know what we’re doing so I said we’d check in with you but maybe we’d go to the store and playground if the kids are up to it.” She said, choosing not to stop the small girl from piling food into her mouth again, wanting to avoid another meltdown. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Well, we do need to get some clothes for Kaley. I say we get that out of the way first and see how she's doing after that. If she's in a good mood we can try the park, if not the park will still be there tomorrow," Alex rationalized, not wanting to overwhelm Kaley on her first full day with them.

Rocky watched in horror as Kaley ate like a toddler. "She's all messy," she said, wrinkling her little freckled nose in disgust.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded. “That sounds like a plan!” She said cheerfully to her daughter before the girl made her remark. “Raquel!” She scolded unhappily. “Be nice!”

Finishing her once full plate and she felt a little queasy, Kaley frowned and made a small scowl. She didn’t appreciate being called messy. “No.” She said in a more normal tone, not quiet but also not a yell. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Well, she is," Rocky said. She was just being honest, so she didn't know what her mother was so mad about. It's not like she was teasing or name-calling. She raised her eyebrows when Kaley spoke. "Look at your hands, you are messy. Big girls are supposed to use a fork."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley looked down at her lap quietly. She knew how to use a fork, but it was faster to not. She had to make sure she got to eat before it got taken away. She couldn’t explain that to anyone though. She wasn’t too fond of this other girl so far. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Rocky, that's enough. You can go to your room," Alex grumbled. 

"But I didn't do anything bad!"

"Raquel, now. Go."

"But-"

Alex pushed his chair back and stood up. "I said go to your room. Now."

Rocky whimpered and bolted upstairs. She wasn't used to her father raising his voice at her. In fact he'd never done it before. Must be her fault, she thought sadly. He doesn't love me any more because of her, he just gives her all his attention. As far as she was concerned this new girl could leave any time now and that would be just fine. She couldn't understand why he liked her when she was just a rude little girl who wouldn't talk to anyone and ate like an animal.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley flinched and shrank when she heard Alex raise his voice. Unsure what was going to come next, she hopped off her seat and ran to the playroom, the only room she’d memorized the location of downstairs. She hid behind a basket of toys, hoping she wouldn’t be seen or found. I don’t like it here. She thought to herself, anxiously biting on her hands while she tried not to cry. Why’d that lady bring me here? What happened to Daddy? Why is that girl mean to me? Her mind was raving a million miles a minute. Almost nothing was explained to her and suddenly she was in a brand new house with people she never met before, and one of those people didn’t seem to want her here. 
 

Sarah sighed when both girls ran away. “Alex, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…” She suggested. “It seems like both girls are taking this really hard. How do we get both of them happy and comfortable?”

[justagirl4fun]

"Babe, we can't give up on this kid when she hasn't even been here twenty-four hours! We knew it would be tough, but we can do this. They just need time...and Rocky needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. The sooner she figures that out, the better." Not wanting Kaley to be alone and scared he went to the playroom and easily spotted her behind the basket. "Hey, Kaley," he said softly as he squatted down, "it's okay. I'm sorry I yelled, but I'm not mad mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong." He reached over and gently pulled her hands away from her mouth, then had an idea. He dug through a drawer full of Rocky's sensory and stim toys, ripped open a package, returned to where Kaley was, and offered her a bright pink silicone tube covered in bumps. "Honey, please don't bite yourself. Why don't you try this instead?"

Upstairs, Rocky slammed the door, jumped on her bed, and started punching her pillow as hard as she could. Sarah hadn't bothered to stick up for her, even though she hadn't done anything wrong, or follow her upstairs, so clearly she liked this weird girl better than her too. She punched and punched til she was out of breath, then flopped down and pulled her oversized weighted frog plush onto her chest, hoping it would help her feel calm like it was supposed to. It didn't, really, though; she just felt sad. She bit her lip hard, trying not to cry, and angrily swiped away the tears that escaped and spilled down her cheeks.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley jumped a little when Alex found her. She hadn’t realized how poor of a hiding spot she had. She looked up at Alex as he spoke softly and kindly to her, sniffling and rubbing at her teary eyes. She hesitantly accepted the tube, skeptically biting it once before realizing it did feel much nicer to chew instead of her hands. Feeling more trustful that Alex wouldn’t hurt her in this moment, she slowly crawled out from behind the basket. “Sorry.” She mumbled quietly around the chewie in her mouth. “For messy.” She added a little later, looking down with a frown. Though she felt more trusting of him, she still felt bad and upset about Rocky. 
 

Sarah sighed and took a deep breath before heading upstairs. She gently knocked on her daughter’s door, hoping to talk to her. “Rocky, honey? It’s Mommy, can I come in? I wanna talk with you.” She said kindly, hoping to help the girl calm down. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong," Alex repeated. "Rocky shouldn't have said anything. Now why don't we get you washed up and then you can pick something to watch before we go out, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Rocky said with a sigh, knowing her mom was probably coming in whether she wanted her to or not."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley nodded and stood up, wiping away the rest of her tears. She allowed Alex to clean her hands off without protest, not relenting on chewing on her tube, finding great comfort in it. 
 

Sarah gently opened the door and sat down on her daughter’s bed. “Honey, Daddy didn’t mean to raise his voice at you just now.” She started softly, trying to tread carefully. “What you said to Kaley wasn’t very nice and you upset her.” She continued. “I know it’s been hard for you since Kaley got here. What can I do to help you while we all adjust?”

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky didn't have an answer for that. All she knew was that she tried to be nice, even with almost no warning that Kaley was coming, but all her father did was scold her since that girl showed up. "You said it wouldn't change how much you love me, but it did!" Rocky said. "I didn't say anything mean. She is messy, she is, and he got mad even though it's the truth cuz he loves her more. It's probably cuz she looks like you," she speculated, thinking about Kaley's fair hair and skin compared to her own unruly black curls and warm brown complexion.

"Alright, now let's find something on TV for a bit." Alex wasn't sure how soon Sarah wanted to leave to go shopping, so he didn't want to start anything too long, but he found some kids shows on Netflix and scrolled through to see if anything caught Kaley's interest.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and hugged her daughter. “Honey that’s not true. Daddy and I love you just as much as before.” She tried to reassure the small girl. “I know this is really hard for everyone right now. It wasn’t to say she was messy even though she was. It’s not a nice thing to say about people, especially when you saw that it made Kaley sad the first time.” She tried to explain. She sighed and paused for a moment. “When you’re feeling sad or scared would you like someone to say that you’re messy?” She tried to get Rocky to empathize though she wasn’t sure how much she was succeeding. “Kaley is scared and sad right now. She got taken out of her home from her Daddy. She doesn’t know any of us yet and she’s having a hard time too.” She explained further. “Since you’re such a big girl and you know Mommy and Daddy so well maybe you can help show Kaley how our family works. Everyone’s house is different. Just like your friends’ houses have different rules than we do.” She gave her daughter a tight hug. “I promise you that Kaley hasn’t made us love you any less. Daddy and I are trying to make sure Kaley feels safe and at home here, and we’re all getting to know her.”

Kaley didn’t recognize most of the shows from Netflix, mostly being used to working the DVD player at home. “Barney!” She exclaimed at the sight of the familiar purple dinosaur. It felt good to have something familiar in this new chaotic house. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex was a little surprised by Kaley's juvenile choice - Rocky never cared for the show, but he seemed to recall it being geared more towards preschoolers - but if it made her happy, he was happy. "Okay, I'm going to go clean the kitchen up. If you need anything just come get me," he said once the girl was settled on the couch.

Rocky sighed and leaned into her mother. "I'll try, but I can't if she's not gonna be nice to me. How can I show her anything when she ignores me?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley sat on the couch, engrossed in the show completely. Chewing on the tube and staring almost unblinking at the screen, she contently rocked back and forth, starting to feel more comfortable and relaxed, even if it was only because she was distracted. 
 

“Well we just have to be patient then.” Sarah said with a smile. “I know you’re very friendly and love to meet people, but maybe Kaley is more shy. Sometimes it takes people a while to talk and be comfortable.” She explained, petting the girl’s hair. “Remember that she’s scared and sad and probably confused. It’s only been one night and I’m sure she’ll want to play with and talk to you more when she’s been here longer.” She gave Rocky one last tight hug after sitting for a while. “Now, how about we get dressed and ready so we can go to the store? Maybe you can even pick something fun out.”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex finished cleaning the kitchen and checked on Kaley. "I'm just going upstairs to finish getting ready, okay? I'll be back down in a few minutes," he informed her, not wanting her to be scared if she came looking for him.

Rocky cheered up a bit at the idea of getting a new toy. "Okay!" She picked out an oversized t-shirt with her favorite soccer team's logo and a pair of bike shorts - she didn't like anything tight, stiff, or scratchy, only things that were soft, comfortable, and easy to move in.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley made no acknowledgement of Alex going upstairs, being engrossed in the TV. 
 

Sarah smiled and gave her daughter one last hug after helping her get dressed. “Okay why don’t you go downstairs and wait while I get dressed too.” 

[justagirl4fun]

"Okay, Kaley has calmed down, she's watching TV and I gave her one of those chewy things the therapist gave us so she'd stop biting her hands. She seems okay with it," Alex said when he found Sarah in their room.

Rocky, not impressed with Kaley's choice of TV shows but not wanting to start trouble, went to the playroom to amuse herself until her parents were ready to go.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Oh good.” Sarah said with relief. “Rocky is doing better too. Let’s hope they stay this way while we’re out.” Once she finished getting ready, she headed downstairs to grab her purse and find Rocky. “Cmon kiddo, let’s hop in the car.” She said as she poked her head into the playroom. On her way to the car she grabbed the extra carseat for Kaley and got it hooked up properly for when Alex got her in. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky slipped on a pair of sandals and bounced out the door after Sarah, still excited about picking out a new toy. "Where are we going first?" she asked as she hopped in her car seat and started strapping herself in. "The toy store?"

Alex grabbed Kaley's sneakers and brought them to the living room. "Okay, let's get your shoes on so we can go get you some new clothes," he said cheerfully.

[Shy-Diapers]

“We’re going to go to target first honey.” Sarah said as she climbed up front. “You can pick something out there.” 
 

Kaley grimaced when it was time to put her shoes on, but she didn’t protest, though she did whine. She didn’t want to throw a fit and make anyone mad but the shoes were so uncomfortable and tight. Once her shoes were on, she obediently followed Alex to the car. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Oh. Well, maybe if I'm really good we'll go to the toy store after?" Rocky asked hopefully. Target was okay, but she really loved the big toy store at the mall.

Alex noticed Kaley struggle with her shoes, but they would have to do for now as Rocky's shoes were the same size and wouldn't fit any better. Once outside he lifted Kaley into her carseat and buckled her in, then got in the driver's seat. He drove to the mall and looked at Sarah. "Where to first?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“Well let’s start out with target.” Sarah suggested. “We’ll be able to get almost everything Kaley will need there.” She said as she helped Rocky out of the car, holding her hand while Alex held Kaley’s. “And we can get Rocky a few new pieces of clothing too. Aside from clothes and shoes is there anything else we should get for Kaley?”

Kaley stayed quiet and obediently held Alex’s hand as they entered the store. She looked around trying to take in the very large and overwhelming store.  

[justagirl4fun]

"We should let her pick out some toys and maybe some things for her room," Alex suggested before leaning close to Sarah and lowering his voice. "She did wet the bed last night. Maybe we should get some pull ups? But let's get her shoes first, her sneakers are way too small. They have to be killing her." He led Kaley to the shoe department and found the next size up from what she was wearing. "Let's try something on and see if this is the right size, or if we need something a little bigger. Pick out a pair of sneakers, whatever ones you like."