Another Foster (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah frowned when Alex started ranting. “No. I had promised her ice cream earlier and it didn’t happen. This hasn’t been easy on any of us, and that includes her.” She said firmly. “I’m glad you were able to help her eventually. That sounds like a smart idea. I’m glad she’s able to test out some of Rocky’s things before we waste money.” She sighed though, trying to find out why the girl was constantly crying. “Are there any patterns to when she starts crying or gets upset?” 

Kaley stood by quietly with the stickers. She looked down when she heard Alex ranting about her. She may not be able to communicate properly but she still understood almost everything everyone was saying around her. She wasn’t really able to pick up on his tone or facial expressions, but she kind of defaulted to assuming she had done something wrong and he wasn’t happy. “Sorry.” She said quietly after Alex had finished talking. “Was bad…” She mumbled sadly. She felt like she really disappointed Alex. Whenever her father talked about her he was mad or disappointed. She didn’t want to disappoint Alex though, he’d been nothing but nice to her and she was starting trust him. If she disappointed him too much would she get taken away from here too?

[justagirl4fun]

"I don't really know if there's a pattern," Alex said with a shrug. "Sometimes she seems scared, other times I think she's frustrated. But I guess it's normal at this point. It's the self-injurious behavior that bothers me. Biting her hands, hitting herself in the head, we need to do something about that." He reached over and took the stickers from Kaley. "No. I told you before, you're not bad. You're a good girl, and you haven't done anything wrong," he said as he pulled the house closer and started placing stickers where they belonged.

[Shy-Diapers]

“We can always see if we’re able to move her appointment up. They might know what to do.” Sarah shrugged. She sighed and decided she better go check on Rocky again. It was almost time to get winding down for bed anyway. She poked her head into the playroom first, seeing if she was in there. 
 

Kaley still felt bad and like she’d done something wrong in order for the adults to be talking about her like this, but she didn’t say anything more. She climbed back onto the couch and happily watched Alex put the stickers on. She was excited to continue arranging everything once the little details were added. Once he had finished, she happily started fixing the arrangements of the furniture in the different rooms. She smiled at him and hoped he knew she appreciated it even if she couldn’t say it right now. 

[justagirl4fun]

"You want me to call in the morning?" Alex asked. "I thought it would be better to let her settle in, but maybe sooner would be better." Once Sarah was gone he watched Kaley as she fixed her house, and patted her head when she smiled at him. "Good job. It looks nice."

Rocky had already headed up to her room and was pacing back and forth, having already swiped a stack of books off the bookcase, dumped over a bucket of small, plastic dinosaurs, and knocked an organizer full of hair accessories off her dresser. She'd been in a good mood when they got home, but being brushed off by her father had her spiraling into another funk.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley flinched a bit when Alex went to pat her head. She relaxed a bit once she realized she wasn’t going to get hit though. She smiled probably the widest since she’d gotten there when he praised her. She beamed and finished the kitchen, moving on to one of the third story bedrooms. She continued arranging contently for a long while. She was very focused and in her own little world. 
 

Sarah headed upstairs to Rocky’s room and sighed when she saw the mess. She sat down on her daughter’s bed and watched her pace. “Honey can you tell me what’s wrong?” She asked kindly. She figured she knew but wanted to hear it from her first. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex watched as the clock approached Rocky's usual bedtime. "That looks great, sweetie, but I think it's time to start getting ready for bed, okay? Do you want to leave your house here, or bring it up to your room?

Rocky kicked the pile of dinosaurs, sending a handful of them flying across the room. " He didn't even want to see me!" she growled as her eyes darted around the room, looking for something else to throw. "He just pushed me away!" 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley was getting tired at this point anyway so she didn’t put up much of a fight when Alex said it was bedtime. “House here.” She echoed as she put the animals inside her house. She grabbed her mouse and started dragging her quilt behind her as she followed Alex to get ready for bed. 
 

Sarah sighed. “Rocky I know you’re upset but you can’t kick and throw your toys.” She said gently. “I don’t think Daddy meant to hurt your feelings. I think he’s so focused on helping Kaley he doesn’t realize you need attention too. I don’t think he doesn’t want to see you.” She tried to reason with the 5 year old, though she knew it wouldn’t be all that helpful. “Do you want me to talk to him and tell him he hurt your feelings?”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex grabbed the bags with Kaley's new clothes and headed to her room, where he laid out a few night towns and pajamas for her to choose from and opened the package of Underjams he'd picked up. "Sweetie, I'd like you to wear one of these tonight. That way, if you have another accident your bed will stay nice and dry."

Rocky burst into tears. She didn't mean to make such a mess, but she could be very impulsive due to the ADHD and once something set her off she had a hard time controlling her behavior. Being exhausted from such an eventful day certainly didn't help. She nodded and jammed a thumb in her mouth - something she'd outgrow over a year ago - but it didn't do much to stop the jagged sobs or steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley happily picked out a pair of pastel pink and purple galaxy pajama shorts and tshirt. She looked up when he started opening the package and talking to her and her face immediately fell. She felt her cheeks get warm and eyes well up with tears. She was six years old, she wasn’t supposed to need diapers. She was embarrassed and didn’t really understand that this wasn’t a punishment. She looked down and away, unsure what to do or say. 
 

Sarah wrapped her daughter up in a tight hug and rocked back and forth with her. She stroked her daughter’s hair and tried to reassure her. “Shhhh it’s okay baby.” She soothed gently. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex could tell the girl was embarrassed and knelt down in front of her. "Hey, it's okay, a lot of kids your age wet the bed. Rocky does. She wears these every night. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you don't want to wear them tonight I won't make you but it's a lot better than waking up in a wet bed."

It took a few minutes but eventually Rocky calmed down. "I'm sorry," she squeaked out between hiccups, her face still buried in Sarah's shoulder. "I'll pick it up."

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley sniffled and started sucking on the corner of her quilt again, her mouse held tight to her chest. She didn’t want to wake up in a wet bed but she was embarrassed and upset. There was more to it but she couldn’t place what she was feeling. She rubbed her teary eyes and sighed a bit, and after a long while, nodded her head, accepting that she’d wear the diaper to bed. 
 

Sarah continued to rock and hold her daughter close. “It’s okay baby. I understand.” She reassured. “I’ll help you clean everything up. Then we can get ready for bed.” She said with a kiss to her daughter’s head. She waited until Rocky seemed ready. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Good girl." Alex helped Kaley into the diaper and her pajamas and led her to the bathroom. He lifted her up to sit on the counter and brushed her teeth, then had her sit on the toilet.

After a few more minutes Rocky slid off Sarah's lap and started collecting dinosaurs in the bucket, making sure to get the ones she'd kicked across the room. 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley blushed more as she walked. She was very aware of the diaper and wasn’t too sure how she felt about it. Since she had her mouse and quilt with her she didn’t put up any more protests. She let Alex brush her teeth and she managed to empty her bladder when placed on the toilet. She wiped herself and hopped off, managing to pull up the underjam and her shorts. 
 

“Good job!” Sarah praised as she picked up the hair accessories. Once everything was picked up, she gave her daughter another hug. “Let’s get your pajamas on for bed and you can pick out a book after you’ve brushed your teeth.”

[justagirl4fun]

Alex escorted Kaley back to her room and showed her a small selection of age-appropriate books. "Do you want to read one of these books before bed? Or do you want to see what books Rocky has that we can read?"

Rocky put her clothes in the hamper, put on an Underjam, and picked out a pair of black and white summer pajamas. The shorts had an allover soccer ball print, while the top, white with black sleeves, had a large soccer ball and "GOAL!" on the front. In the bathroom she used the toilet, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth, then hurried back to her room and selected The Rainbow Fish, a book she had just gotten for her birthday.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley looked through the books on the shelf, pulling out each one to see the cover before putting it away. She couldn’t read at all so she had to rely completely on the pictures. Eventually she found If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and she seemed ecstatic. “Mouse!” She said happily before she climbed into the bed. She did keep a careful eye on Alex for a while, but shortly after the book started she laid down with her mouse and blanket, feeling safer and more comfortable than the previous night. 
 

Sarah smiled and sat on the girl’s bed. She read her the chosen book and once she was sure the small girl was asleep, she kissed her forehead and tucked her in, creeping out of the room and turning the lights off. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex was happy Kaley felt comfortable enough to pick a book and let him read to her. Once he finished he tucked her in, turned out the light, and headed downstairs to tidy up and relax with his wife before bed. "She actually picked out a book and let me read to her," he announced happily when Sarah joined him. "She seemed a little upset about the Underjams but she did agree to wear them."

[Shy-Diapers]

“That’s great.” Sarah agreed. She shrugged about the underjams, it seemed normal to her. “I think most kids her age would be upset about that.” She sympathized. With a sigh she decided she needed to talk to Alex about Rocky. “Rocky wanted me to tell you that she was really hurt when you brushed her off earlier. She wanted to be with you and she feels like you don’t want her.” She started, waiting for her husband’s reaction. 

[justagirl4fun]

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked defensively. "I never..." He thought back to when Sarah and Rocky had gotten home. "Okay, maybe...but I didn't mean it like that.  Kaley wanted me to do something for her. It was the first time she really approached me like thst, was I supposed to tell her to wait?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed and shook her head. “I know you didn’t mean it like that. But Rocky doesn’t. She’s only 5.” She explained. “You could’ve acknowledged Rocky or asked her to wait until you were done with helping Kaley.” She suggested, unsure what the best way to go about things was. “I know we’re trying to help Kaley and make her feel comfortable here, but Rocky feels like you don’t want or like her. She’s still so little too.”

[justagirl4fun]

"I know, I know. I will do better, I promise," Alex said. "And speaking of Rocky, there's a game on Sunday. How are we going to handle that?" They had been in the process of renewing their license to foster when Alex had bought the season tickets so he'd gotten four, knowing there was a good chance they'd have a foster child at some point that summer - and if not, Rocky could bring a friend with the extra ticket. He wasn't sure Kaley was ready for the chaos of a professional sporting event, and he knew that even though she tried for her daughter's sake Sarah had little interest in, or knowledge of, soccer, so sending her alone with Rocky didn't seem fair. However, Kaley hadn't really connected with Sarah yet, so him taking Rocky and leaving Kaley home with Sarah wasn't exactly ideal, either. But not going would be disappointing for Rocky and a waste of money unless he could find someone who wanted the tickets  on such short notice. 

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah sighed. “I completely forgot about that.” She groaned and tipped her head back. “I don’t think Kaley would handle respite care this early, and it’s not like we could get it on this short of notice.” She thought out loud. “I mean I guess we could try to bring Kaley. Maybe if she uses Rocky’s headphones. Though I don’t know how much she’d enjoy it. If she’s okay with it I can go with her while you’re here with Kaley, that’s the only thing I can think of. Would any of her friends’ parents want to come with?”

[justagirl4fun]

"No, Rocky needs the headphones, remember?" They'd realized that half an hour into the first game when their pint-sized soccer fanatic had a massive meltdown. Neither of them had realized how rowdy the crowd would be, and they'd ended up leaving at halftime. The next game, armed with the headphones and a few sensory toys, had gone much smoother but he didn't think she was ready to go without. "But we have a few days yet, we could pick up another pair before then. We're definitely not leaving her in respite care. I guess we could ask her tomorrow how she feels about going but if she doesn't want to I'm sure we can find someone to go. I know Lisa - Sophia's mom - mentioned they go to games sometimes." Sophia was Rocky's best friend, pre-K classmate, and soccer teammate, and lived just a few blocks away.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Well, I’ll talk to Rocky and see if she’s okay going with just me. With Kaley’s tendency to wander I don’t think it’s a good idea to take her to be honest. Plus I think Rocky would appreciate not having Kaley at the game because it’s more one on one time. If she wants to we can see if Sophia’s mom wants to tag along.” Sarah sighed, everything had happened so quickly that they had such little time to prepare for anything. “It’s going to be a juggling act to keep both girls happy and sane that’s for sure.”

[justagirl4fun]

"I think that's probably the best plan," Alex admitted. While he certainly hoped fun family outings would be possible right now was probably not the time to try, with Kaley still struggling and the girls not really getting along. "I do wish they'd at least try to play together, hopefully there will be progress in that area soon."

[Shy-Diapers]

“I’m sure they will. Kaley has only been here for two days and she’s still adjusting.” Sarah tried to comfort her husband. “I say we don’t push it too much and it’ll happen naturally. I think getting Kaley the intervention and help she needs will do a lot to make things better in other areas as well.”