Another Foster (Private)

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky nodded and clutched her chosen items to her chest. She couldn't wait to get home and try them out!

Since Kaley didn't seem interested in anything else Alex figured they were done and looked around for Sarah. "We found something she likes!" he announced happily when he found her. He frowned a little when he saw Rocky had two thing instead of one like she'd been told, but decided it wasn't worth arguing when Kaley's house alone was over $70. "Are we done here?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“That’s great!” Sarah smiled. She was happy that the girl had found something of interest beyond just blocks and magna tiles. Once everything was paid for, she turned back to Alex. “What should we do for lunch?” She asked. Kaley had been doing surprisingly well all day so she wasn’t sure if they should try and get something at the food court or if they should just go home. 

Kaley showed a little resistance to having to give up her animals in order to check out, though she decided she would trust Alex and Sarah. After all, they hadn’t done her wrong yet. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Let's get something to eat here," Alex decided. The kids seemed to be in relatively good spirits, and Sarah had promised Rocky a treat after shopping if she was good; as far as he knew she had lived up to her end of the bargain, so it wouldn't be fair to let her down. He held Kaley's hand and made his way to the food court where he found an empty table and dropped the bags from the toy store. "Okay sweetie, do you want pizza, tacos, Chinese, a sandwich, or something from McDonald's?" he asked Kaley, even though he didn't really expect an answer.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah took Rocky’s hand and followed Alex to the food court. “What do you want to eat kiddo? Remember to get real food too and then we can still get your ice cream.” 
 

Kaley was a little overwhelmed by all the choices Alex rattled off to her. She hadn’t really had most of those foods before. She stared in silence for a while before repeating the last option he gave her. “McDonald’s” she parroted, hoping that was a good answer. She hadn’t had it before as far as she was aware but it was the last thing she caught him say. 

[justagirl4fun]

By this point Alex knew Kaley was merely repeating his words, but not knowing her likes and dislikes figured McDonalds was as good a choice as any - after all, she had scarfed down the nuggets and fries the night before. He decided to order her a McNugget happy meal with apple juice.

Rocky scanned the food court and eventually settled on Subway. "I want turkey, bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers," she rattled off, "and no mayonnaise."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley was thrilled when she got to sit down and the food was placed in front of her. She happily scarfed down the chicken nuggets and fries before sucking the juice box dry. She wanted more but didn’t want to get in trouble by asking. She didn’t necessarily feel hungry but she felt like she only ate a small amount of food. 
 

Sarah got Rocky her requested sub and her own before she sat down with the rest of her family. She got her daughter settled and started to eat her own food. “Everyone’s been doing great today!” She commented happily. She was amazed they’d gone this long without either girl having a meltdown. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex offered Kaley some of his fries when he saw how quickly she had finished her meal. "Yes, I'd say this day was a success," he said to Sarah. 

Rocky ate half of her sub before starting on the bag of Sun Chips that came with her meal and happily sipped her raspberry lemonade.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley happily accepted and started eating the additional fries offered to her. As she was putting the last few fries in her mouth she froze for a moment, she looked around in a panic, unsure where she could hide. The small girl, having not been to the bathroom all day and not realizing she had to go, was having an accident and her dress was getting wet as was her seat. 
 

“When you’re done eating if you still want to we can get your ice cream.” Sarah said turning to Rocky when she saw the girl was about halfway done. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Yeah! I do want ice cream!" Rocky said excitedly before starting on the other half of her sub. "Cherry vanilla," she added around a mouthful of food.

Alex continued eating, unaware of Kaley's problem.

Rocky quickly finished and ran to throw her garbage in the trash can. "Okay, I'm ready for ice cream!"

Alex picked up the remaining trash and threw it out. "How about you? Do you want ice cream?" he asked Kaley. "Or you can get a cookie instead."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah chuckled and headed over to get Rocky’s ice cream. “Do you want it in a cup or a cone?” She asked before she ordered. 
 

Kaley felt completely frozen and stuck. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes but she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t say anything to Alex even though she knew he was there. She started to shake as the tears overflowed and fell down her face. Her body frequently resorted to survival techniques, fight, flight, freeze, this time it chose freeze. 

[justagirl4fun]

"What's wrong? Oh," Alex noticed the urine dripping off Kaley's chair and forming a puddle. "Oh, sweetie, don't cry. It's my fault, I should have taken you to the bathroom before lunch. Sarah!" he called as she was waiting in line. He waved her back when she looked in his direction.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah whipped her head around when she heard her name. They hadn’t quite gotten to order the ice cream yet. When she saw Alex she rushed over with Rocky in tow. “What’s wr- oh dear.” She said once she saw what was happening. “What happened?” 
 

Kaley whimpered and sat still, though she wanted to run away. She was even more scared when Sarah and Rocky came over. More people seeing her be bad was never a good thing. She started chewing on the inside of her cheek as she continued to silently cry, unable to figure out how to get out of the situation. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I should have taken her to the bathroom before we ate," Alex admitted. "Now, all her new clothes are in the car. Do you want to run out and get something for her to change into, or just call it a day?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and frowned. “I think we better just go home. I don’t think she’ll be up to doing anything else right now. She seems pretty upset.” She gathered up the bags from the toy store so Alex could focus on Kaley. “C’mon Rocky, we gotta head home now.”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex nodded in agreement and Picked Kaley up, grimacing as her wet clothes dampened his shirt. 

"But my ice cream!" Rocky protested. "You promised! I was so good! It's not my fault she peed her pants!" She didn't say it maliciously, and wasn't trying to embarrass Kaley, she was just upset about her ice cream.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley flinched and started trembling when Alex picked her up. Convinced that he was mad and she’d be in big trouble and would get very hurt, she shut her eyes as tight as she could, trying to mentally escape this situation. 
 
Sarah sighed and continued to usher Rocky out of the mall. “I know and I’m sorry honey. We’ll figure something out when we get home.” 

 

[justagirl4fun]

"It's okay, I'm not mad," Alex said soothingly as he rubbed Kaley's back. "Nobody's mad. You're not in trouble. Remember I told you we'll never get mad over an accident." He paused halfway through the parking lot to turn and glare at his daughter who was now crying - and getting louder with every passing minute. "Rocky, that's enough," he snapped, though his words fell on deaf ears.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Rocky please calm down.” Sarah said. She was getting increasingly frustrated with the girl though she tried not to show it. “Would you prefer to be carried?” She offered. She just wanted to get the girls home and in better headspaces. 
 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky tried taking a few deep breaths like her therapist had taught her, but was having a hard time regulating her emotions while being hurried through the busy parking lot. The sun was too bright, the passing cars too loud on top of her very big feelings, and she just continued sobbing having none of her usual tools handy to self-soothe.

When they got to the car Alex, who was doing his best to simply ignore Rocky at this point, dug out a few old towels he kept on hand for emergencies and used them to line Kaley's carseat before buckling her in. "We'll be home soon and get you all cleaned up, okay?" he said as he ruffled her hair.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and helped Rocky get in the car. “Would it help if we turned something on to listen to?” She offered as she got into her own seat. 
 

Kaley was less frozen at this point but she still felt terrified. She started chewing on the tube again, gnawing on it as hard as she could the whole way home. Her brain was struggling to process everything. She was supposed to be good and obedient and clean. Having an accident in the mall was not any of those things. She was scared and still anticipating being hurt, but at the same time she was confused. She didn’t know why Alex was so calm and nice with her. He didn’t seem mad. She didn’t understand why he wasn’t. Her clothes growing cold clammy wasn’t helping her mental state, having no coping skills aside from chewing. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky shook her head and covered her ears. The last thing she needed was more noise right now - what she really wanted right now were her sunglasses and noise canceling headphones. But she could tell her parents were growing agitated with her meltdown so once she was buckled in she squeezed her eyes shut, bit her lip as hard as she could and tried to focus on that instead of everything else. She was still whimpering, big tears rolling down her flushed cheeks, but did her best to quiet down before anyone got mad at her.

When they got home, Alex grabbed the bags with Kaley's new clothes and carried her in to the downstairs bathroom, which also served as the laundry room, so he could toss her wet things right in the wash. The fidgets he'd picked out were also in one of the bags so he handed her a stress ball to play with, hoping it might help her calm down a bit.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah helped Rocky out of the car at home and made sure she got to her room. She knew everyone needed time to cool off. “Do you want me here or do you want to be alone?” She offered, unsure what would be best for the overwhelmed girl. 
 

Kaley accepted the squishy stress ball. She states at it quietly as she squeezed it in her hand. “Sorry.” She mumbled quietly around the chewie when Alex started to undress her. She still flinched when he got close to her, but didn’t fight him and seemed to relax much quicker. “Made a mess.” She continued after a while. She wasn’t able to even look at him. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Alone," Rocky decided before adding, "want my tablet. Taylor." She had her own playlist on the tablet, and often listening to one song on repeat helped her calm down and focus. Her preferred song was "Never Grow Up," by Taylor Swift, which Sarah had sung to her every night when she was little while they rocked in the rocking chair.

"Yes you did, but that's okay," Alex assured Kaley as he gave her a quick sponge bath. "I should have asked if you needed to go to the bathroom. But if I forget to ask, you can always tell me if you need to go. You don't ever have to be afraid to tell me anything." 

Once Kaley was clean again Alex helped her into her underwear and laid out two casual shorts sets that would be comfy to relax in and let her pick which one she wanted. Then he got her settled on the couch where she could watch TV or take a nap if she felt like it and gave her a few more fidget toys - a popper shaper like a rainbow, and a translucent purple nubbly ball that lit up when squeezed. "Would you like me to put Barney back on?" he offered.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded and got her daughter the tablet. She pulled up the playlist with her chosen song and then quietly started to leave the room. “Let me know if you need anything baby.” She said softly as she crept out of the room. She took a breath and decided to go downstairs and see how Kaley and Alex were. 
 

Kaley looked down when Alex told her that she could tell him she needed to go. She didn’t know she had to go at all, let alone so urgently. She wasn’t good at getting the signals from her body for much of anything. Her trauma and history of frequent holding didn’t help it either. She didn’t have the words to explain this to Alex, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to anyway. She picked out the lavender shorts set when offered and let Alex dress her with very minimal fuss. 
 

On the couch, Kaley looked around. She didn’t pay much attention to the new fidget toys. This was a lot of new things all at once. She started to whimper and anxiously flap her hands. She was getting really worked up. She was tired and had had a long and intense day. “Mouse.” She whined out after a while, she needed the two familiar comforts she still had. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky closed her blinds, got her headphones and her weighted frog, and burrowed down as far as she could in her oversized beanbag chair. With her mom gone she allowed herself to cry some more. Eventually the music and the pressure helped her calm down, but she was too drained to deal with anyone so she stayed in her cozy spot.

"Okay, okay, just a minute," Alex said and took off to retrieve the mouse, running into Sarah at the bottom of the stairs.