Night Changes

Phil sat in his car outside the airport waiting for his in-laws. He was tired. He had hardly slept last night - too worried about missing one of his kids calling for help. He had been sleeping alone in his room. Skye had asked Melinda to stay with her. He was sure Tasha had spent the night in Bobbi’s room. Leo had joined him a little after midnight. He hadn’t said anything, just slid into the bed and fallen asleep almost immediately. Phil was glad he felt safe with him.

He and Melinda had given all their kids a choice to miss school. It had been a rough evening after all. The kids had opted otherwise. Izzy had called around breakfast. CPS had made an unannounced visit at the Ward house, which had let to a lot of drama. The Senator had been caught in the act of abusing his kids. The NYPD had been contacted and they had arrested the man. His kids had been immediately transported to the nearest hospital. A thorough interview had been conducted with the kids. Christian Ward had been sent to a group home, while Grant and Thomas ended up with Izzy and Vic. They were  registered as emergency fosters. Leo had been happy to know that Thomas was safe and they hadn’t taken him away from Grant. Phil skipped the other details but he did tell his children to avoid the siblings. They might not be so accepting of the changes in their life.

After dropping the three kids at their school, Phil had spent the morning with Melinda and Skye. They had watched a movie - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Skye loved that movie, even though her favourite Harry Potter book was Prisoner of Azkaban. Phil had talked to her, explaining to her that he loved her. He avoided entering her room so that she always has a place which was her safe haven. She had hugged him. That was the first time she had hugged him and Phil had been unable to hide his tears.

He had made mac and cheese for lunch. After lunch, Melinda and Skye left for the training institute. Mel wanted Skye to practice tai chi with a group. She had cancelled all her classes except the one after lunch. They would pick the others from school, while Phil had the privilege of being the one who told Lian and William that they would not be meeting their grandkids today.

Phil looked at his watch. Their flight would be landing soon but he still had some time. He pulled out his phone and called Maria.

“Hey Phil. How is it going?”
“Need you to run a background check on one Skye’s previous fosters,” Phil said, cutting to the chase.
“Name?”
“Charles Cooper.”
“How likely is it that I will want to kill him?”
“Very likely.”

He heard her sigh. She would not ask any more questions but she would find out soon enough. Dr. Morgan would be filing the complaint soon. There would be legal proceedings. Skye might need to testify. Fuck.

“Phil?”
“I am here. I just - Green put Skye with him. Melinda thinks he might have some answers.”
“You want me to talk to him?”
“You will probably need to. I will let you deal with that. Just - don’t let me anywhere near him. I will definitely kill him.”

Maria heard the message loud and clear and promptly changed the subject.

“Give me some ideas for Skye’s Christmas presents. I don’t want to give her art supplies. Is she fond of reading?”
“Only Harry Potter. She is also very much into programming. The teacher thinks she and Leo can take high school class next year.”
“Really. That’s awesome.”
“Yeah. They both will be working on individual projects too. Leo in engineering and Skye in computers.”
“Okay. I got good ideas now.”

Phil smiled. He saw Lian and William walking towards his car. “Got to go, Ria. Lian and William are here.”
She knew Melinda was supposed to pick them up but she didn’t question him. “Cool. See you soon. Bye.”
“Bye.”

Phil disconnected the call and putting his phone back in his pocket, he stepped out of the car. Lian and William had noticed him. There was surprise on their faces, even as they greeted him. Phil smiled and shook hands with both of them.

“We were expecting Qiaolian?” Lian said. She didn’t like the change in plans, Phil could tell that. She was shorter than Melinda with greying hairs but anyone who thought of her as just an old woman, was an idiot. Those eyes were scrutinizing and right now they were demanding an answer.

“Change of plans. I will tell you more on the way. Let’s get going.” He wanted to be home as soon as he could. He put their luggage into the car. Lian got in the back while William took the passenger seat. It was easier with his hip. He had been in an accident a while ago.

Phil started the car. “Skye had a rough night,” Phil told them, as he started driving to their rented house. Their rented car would be there. “She needed her mom. So, Melinda stayed with her.”

“Mom?” William said. Phil could see a small smile on his face.
“Yes.”

“And what does she call you, Philip?” Lian asked. She would never call him Phil, knowing that the full name rattled him a bit.

“Phil,” he answered. William patted his arm. “She will get there,” Phil told them. “She enjoys talking about history with me. She likes cooking with me. She likes me to read to her.”

“Tell us more about her and others,” William said. “Mellie talked some but you know how she is.” Phil laughed. Melinda and talking did not go together. She talked to her kids but she was more of a ‘show, not tell’ kind of person.

Phil told them a few things. He told them about the high school class, the online courses and the individual projects. He told them about Skye’s interest in art. They discussed Bobbi’s basketball practice and games, and Tasha’s passion for dance. She had learned from a previous foster - a nice loving woman - who had been defeated by her heart disease. Tasha still enjoyed dancing but she refused lessons, saying that it reminded her of Mrs. Allen.

As he parked the car in front of the house, Phil steeled himself. It was time for some tough conversations. Melinda would do much better at these but Melinda was not here. He got out of the car and took out their luggage to the house, waiting for Lian to unlock the door.

“Melinda got the ingredients you asked for,” Phil told them, pointing at the kitchen. His in-laws nodded. They could probably see the tension on his face. “I know we were supposed to have dinner today, but it will have to wait for tomorrow now.”

“You said she had rough night. It was more than that,” Lian said.

Phil nodded. “It was not just for Skye. Leo found that a classmate of his was being hurt at home. He was a little shaken up. And you can’t have two kids rattled and expect it not to affect the other two.” Actually, he was sure that the other two wouldn’t take long before they figure out what was bothering Skye. If they hadn’t figured it out already. Tasha had been through something similar, though the fighter in her had kicked the man and escaped. Skye had been younger though, Phil thought. Nine years old. The anger returned and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Do not push her. Don’t enter her room without asking. Don’t touch her. Most importantly, William, you can’t be alone with her. No matter what.”

Their faces were painful to look at. They both understood what he wasn’t saying. “Is she healing?” William asked.

“Hopefully. It’s slow but yes, she is doing better.” She had hugged him today. “She is fun to be around. A bit like Mel, though she talks much more.” They smiled at the joke. “Might take her some time to get comfortable with you two but she’ll get there. Just tell her some stories from CIA or Air Force, and you’ll soon be on the cool list.”

Skye loved hearing those stories. Phil often exaggerated things a bit to hear her laugh but he could tell that she genuinely enjoyed the stories. Just like Bobbi did. Tasha and Leo liked to boast about their parents but Phil was sure that given the opportunity, Bobbi and Skye were more likely to be the ones who followed their footsteps. Melinda wouldn’t be too happy about it - she didn’t want them to suffer like they had - but she would support them.

Phil talked to them some more. Assured them that they were still welcome. Yes, the kids were rattled and Skye was nervous about meeting them, but they were all looking forward to meeting them. He left soon, thinking of his family as he drove towards his home.

Skye took a deep breath as she pulled out her science homework. She was in the library with her brother. She had returned to school after a day off. It had gone fine, easier than she had expected. She had woken up snuggled between Bobbi and Tasha, as Leo snored on the trundle. They had all slept in Bobbi’s room. Breakfast had been quick - school mornings were always a rush - and then Phil had driven them to school.

Her friends had been worried. Leo had told everyone that she had woken up with a headache and that’s why she had missed school. Skye hadn’t corrected their assumption - she was still not ready to talk about it. Phil and Melinda had tried to but Skye was scared. They hadn’t forced her. She had loved spending the day with them. She had hugged with Phil. Skye marvelled at how easy it had been and how warm he had felt. Kind of like her mom did.

“Have you decided on a topic for your independent study?” Leo asked. Mr. Jeffords had suggested a few topics like app development, cybersecurity, AI, etc. but what interested Skye the most was game development. “Woah! That sounds interesting. Have you thought of a plotline?”

“Not yet. What about you? Have you decided on a topic?” Skye asked him.
“Yeah!” he answered. “I am gonna build a solar powered car.”
“A car?” Skye asked, a bit surprised.
“Like a small scale car.”
“Oh!” She grinned sheepishly.

They talked some more about their classes as they worked on their science homework, and later social science. They finished all of it before it was time to go home.

“Did you have a good day?” Phil asked as she and Leo got into the car.

“Yeah,” Skye said. She started talking about the classes. She had some catching up to do in French but with Thanksgiving holidays approaching, it would be easy. Leo told about his own day. They had spent all of it together, except the last class. Bobbi and Natasha talked about their own day. Bobbi also confirmed that Hunter would be joining them for the shopping trip. She gave Skye a look, which caused her to grin. Bobbi had planned this date with Hunter so that they could get the print outs of the photos and the papers Bobbi had told her about, without raising anyone’s suspicion.

Melinda was waiting for them when they arrived home. She greeted everyone with a hug - a kiss for Phil, but Skye looked away. “Okay. Mom and dad will be here soon. Why don’t you four change and work on your homework for a while? That way you will be relatively free for the weekend.”

Skye was working on her French homework when someone knocked on the door of her room. “Come in,” she said. The door opened and her mom walked in. Skye grinned at her and leaned into her when she came close. “I need more French lessons,” she announced.

“We can do it over the weekend. Are you done with your homework?”

“Almost. Only computer and English left.” She checked the time. It was a little past five. She should be able to finish most of her homework before dinner.

“I want you to listen to me very carefully, Skye.” Skye looked at her mom with wide eyes. “If today gets too much, I want you to tell me. Or Phil. If something makes you uncomfortable, you can tell us. Okay?” Skye nodded. “I mean it, baby girl. Promise me.”

Skye nodded again. “Promise.” She hugged her mom, who returned the hug, and pressed a kiss into her hairs. Skye loved this feeling so much. She had never felt so safe and so loved. She had a few fosters who didn’t hurt her but even they weren’t like this. This was her family - she had two older sisters, a brother, a mom and - a dad (was Phil like a dad?). She also had grandparents and aunts.

She had a family.

Bobbi looked around the table as everyone began to eat. Skye’s initial introduction with Lao Lao and Lao Ye had gone quite well. She was a little on the edge but Bobbi was quite sure that it was just nerves. She was relaxing a bit as Lao Ye told some stories from their mom’s childhood. Bobbi had heard all these stories. She focused on the other things around.

Natasha was a little on the edge. Bobbi knew why. They had both noticed Skye’s anxiety when their dad got too close. He had been keeping his distance. Natasha had been similar though her reactions were angrier. Skye panicked and that did not settle well with Bobbi (or Tasha). Her anxiety after her recent session had been worrying but Bobbi hoped that it was the beginning of her healing process. What troubled Bobbi the most were the words Skye had said last night to her (Tasha and Leo had been asleep). No one ever believed me before. That made her want to punch some people.

A leg bumped into hers. Tasha was looking at her. Bobbi looked around and realized that she had zoned out a bit. Thankfully no one else had noticed. (Their mom probably had but she didn’t count.) She focused on eating the delicious lasagna her dad had made, while listening to the conversation. Lao Lao and Lao Ye had obviously been informed of Skye’s interests because they were doing a very good job at engaging her on those topics. They would switch to someone else once in a while to give her a break. It was soon her own turn.

“So Bobbi, tell us about your new boyfriend?” Lao Lao asked.
“You have met him Lao Lao. Lance Hunter. You know him. I don’t know what new to tell you.”
“Is he treating you well?”

Bobbi nodded, hoping her cheeks were not turning red. She had kissed Hunter. It had been a sweet kiss and Hunter had been really nice about it but she wasn’t in the mood of sharing this information with the others.

“Why don’t you people come over after your shopping tomorrow?” Lao Lao asked. “I will make some dumplings.” Bobbi’s mouth watered and she looked at her parents with puppy dog eyes, hoping they would agree.

“Dumplings like we ate that day?” Skye asked, looking at their mom.
“Yes. But mama’s are way better.”
“Why don’t we come here?” Lao Ye suggested. “That way you two can have a date night.”
“Let’s keep that for another day, baba. I don’t want to miss mama’s dumplings.”

Their parents often went on dates, mostly leaving them with Grandma or Maria. But they had put a curfew on themselves since Skye had come to live with them. Which was not something new. They had done something similar when Tasha had come to live with them.

After the dinner was done, their grandparents gave them all the presents they had brought. Bobbi got a pocket microscope. Natasha got a mystery novel. She settled on a bean bag and started reading immediately. Leo got a toy building set and Skye got a sketchbook and some paint. They all said thanks and got involved with their own presents.

Skye could not remember the last time she had been so interested in shopping or in Christmas. She walked into the mall with her family. Izzy, Vic and Hunter were there too. Bobbi and Hunter disappeared almost immediately and Izzy and Vic too left to enjoy some time together.

Their first stop was the bookstore. Skye wandered around with Leo, looking for books for Jemma. Her interests were in biology and chemistry, so those were the subjects they explored. There were so many options that it became a little overwhelming. Skye needed every present to be perfect. This was the first time she would be celebrating Christmas. This was the first time she had family and friends. Everything had to be perfect.

“The presents will be perfect, angel eyes,” Phil said, correctly reading her anxiety. “Because they are from you. That is what makes them special.” He smiled at her and some of her anxiety quelled down. Eventually, Leo found the books Jemma would enjoy. Skye bought a book providing an informative introduction to chemistry and Leo got Jemma a book on human body. Tasha got a book for Bobbi and helped Skye find a book on Russian language for Piper.

She explored the mall more with her family. She picked a black denim jacket for Maria and some funky bracelets for Izzy. Her mom suggested a handbag for Vic. Tasha had wandered of with Phil to find presents for her friends and Leo was looking for a present for Bobbi.

“Hey Skye,” Leo spoke, as he explored the bag section. “Have you thought of a present for Bobbi and Tasha?” Skye nodded, grinning. “Well. What is it?”

“I am not telling,” Skye said in a sing-song voice. Leo gave her a scrutinizing look and even Melinda looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s going inside your mind, baby girl?”
“Yeah! Why are you being secretive?”

Skye grinned and started looking for a handbag for Vic. She could feel the others still looking at her but she wasn’t telling. She just hoped they liked her present.

By the time their shopping trip ended, Skye had presents for her aunts and all her friends, except Trip. This left her with her grandparents and the sketches, she had to make. She had already spent most of her allowance money so she definitely needed some extra chores. Phil and Lian had promised extra allowances for helping with Thanksgiving preparations. Then there was extra cleaning. Skye had hated chores at Saint Agnes but here, they were almost fun. She was often paired with Bobbi or Tasha, and they did a lot of talking while doing the chores. Most often, Phil and Melinda helped them too.

When they returned home - after shopping and enjoying Lian’s delicious dumplings - Skye excused herself and went to her room. Her memories were on the edge since the session on Wednesday but she had been trying to ignore them. She pulled out the paper pad Bobbi had bought her and one of the printouts. She decided to work on her foster parents’ beach photograph. It would probably be the easiest as it did not have a face.

She worked for over an hour and only managed to sketch half of the picture. She wasn’t worried though. She had over a month to finish them. Life was pretty good right now. She hoped that nothing would go wrong in the future.