Okay. So, I know I've been absent for quite some time, and I really feel badly about that. I've been put on some anti-depressants, and they have been making me... well, high, for over a month now. I've never enjoyed that feeling, although I understand why so many people prefer the absence of control. But I've never liked that. Ever. So I got the doc to prescribe me something a little less strong, and I've finally been able to gather my wits enough to write again.
That being said, I'm still not comfortable enough to continue writing Blush or Save Me, or even Our Love. So i've started something else. Something I'm not quite as invested in, yet, and hopefully won't turn out too badly. However, if it does, I blame the drugs. K? K. GleekMom sure seems to enjoy it, so I'm hoping you guys will too.
Actually, I'm going to let you all in on a big secret: GleekMom is the whole reason I started this particular story. She works with kids and their families every single day, and never lets it get to her. She is my inspiration, and my strength. She is a new-found sister, a friend, and someone I could turn to when I just needed someone to listen. Her heart truly overwhelms me, and I pray to God, that someday I get the chance to meet her in person.
A quote I heard the other day, on the movie "The House Bunny" no less, makes me smile and think of her: "Kindness is just Love with its work boots on." This is what she reminds me of, and I'm thankful every single day she found my stories and wrote to me. She's been amazing. Oh God, now, I'm crying, and... Well, just read the damn story. *Makes shooing motions while wiping my eyes with a tissue*
The dark surrounded him, clawing its way through his brain as he fought to regain consciousness. His head hurt, so much, he feared that he might never recover fully. The throbbing of the blood pulsing through his head made it worse, but at least he could feel. It was better than the alternative.
Blaine Anderson cracked his eyes open slightly, wincing as the light stabbed into his retinas. Blinking carefully, he cleared his vision, the blurry blobs resolving themselves into the shapes of a bed, a chair, and his mother seated beside him. Looking around, he realised he was in a hospital room. He wondered where his father was.
"Oh, Honey…" He blinked softly at his mother, who stood up, taking his hand gently as a tear rolled down her cheek. He wanted to comfort her, tell her the pain wasn't really as bad as it looked. Then he tried to speak, and realised his voice wasn't working. There was a tube in his throat. And as he realised it, he began to choke. His mother's face swam before him, and he heard her scream.
A doctor and a nurse ran in, the doctor holding him down while the nurse shot his arm full of something that made him sleepy again. As his head lolled back, and he slipped back into unconsciousness, he vaguely heard his mother crying in the background.
"He'll never touch him again… I swear to God, he never will…"
6 months later…
Blaine looked furtively around him, his heart hammering in his chest as he walked down the street. Slipping around an older couple, he counted the steps to his hiding spot.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five. One, Two, Three, Four, Five. One, Two…
Made it. His thin body slipped through the broken fencing, after a quick glance back and forth to make sure no one was watching. He clenched his jaw, slid through, and made his way over the broken, discarded furniture to the small wooden box he used for sleeping in.
He checked his small stash of food, making sure it hadn't been touched while he was gone, and also checked to make sure his sleeping place remained unseen from the world around him. The slatted fencing kept most prying eyes away, which was part of the reason he had chosen this place. The other reason was there were very few windows that opened into this abandoned lot from the adjoining buildings, so it was very rare for him to see anyone gazing around the lot from the upper stories. He sighed softly, and his heart began to slow back to its normal pace.
He pulled out the tiny bunsen burner he had managed to sneak from the science lab at Dalton, before he had left, and flicked it on. No one had managed to see the extension cord he ran from the side of the building closest to him; he had covered the bright red cord with litter found around the lot.
Blaine heated up the small can of Alphagetti noodles, after opening it to make sure it was still good. Canned goods were usually okay, even if they had dents, but sometimes the botulism was hard to see. He'd had a couple of iffy cans already this month, so he was doubly cautious to check every time. If he opened it and it even remotely smelled off, he chucked it, no matter how hungry he was.
He pulled a pair of tongs from his meager supply of utensils, holding the opened can over the small flame until the bottom began to get red, and the sauce began to bubble. He turned off the burner, and grabbed his only spoon. He rubbed the spoon with his tee shirt, trying to clean off the dirt, and gingerly placed the can on the small slab of overturned cement he used for a table. Leaning over, he scooped up the noodles, and gave a small, appreciative moan as the food slid down his throat.
A small shuffle in the pile of garbage across from him brought him back to his senses. He backed up a little, hoping that there wasn't a vicious dog there. He'd had a couple of encounters with those recently, too, and was not looking forward to having to deal with another.
Blaine put his food down, leaving the spoon in the tin can, and slowly made his way forward. His heart sped up again, his flight response on high alert, ready to cause him to run if whatever it was, was dangerous. With shaking hands, he reached toward a flattened cardboard box, and with a twist of the wrist, he revealed the source of the shuffling.
A tiny girl stared back at him, appearing no more than three or four years old. Her matted hair obstructed her eyes somewhat, and the twisting of her little arm showed a wrist that had been broken, and had never healed right. She was dirty, completely filthy, and the oversized clothes hung on her tiny frame. She sat there, her tired eyes asking silently for him to just do with her what he will, she didn't really care anymore. In that moment, Blaine's heart shattered for this little girl.
Blaine backed away a bit, giving the child a bit of space, his hands up where she could see them at all times. He watched as she licked her cracked lips, her hands clenching around what looked like an old sock. She watched him as closely as he watched her, her eyes darting from his face to his hands, and then concentrating on something behind him. He slowly turned back, and saw what she was looking at: his food. He looked back at her, her eyes pled with him to be kind.
He returned to his little shelter, scooping up the tin can, with the spoon, and his blanket. He returned to the girl, who scooted back when he came within three feet of her. The panic in her eyes told him more than he needed to know: this child had been abused, severely. His heart broke again, and tears sprang to his eyes for the girl.
Gently sliding forward, Blaine made it to within a foot of the young child, and he placed the cooling tin can on the ground in front of her. Her eyes raised to him, as though awestruck, and her good hand reached out to grasp the can. She pulled it towards herself, cupping the can with her bad arm, and pulled the spoon out with her good hand. As she raised it to her lips, Blaine sighed softly. The girl swallowed down her bite, then looked at him again. She pulled out another spoonful, and ever so carefully, leaned forward, holding it out to him.
Blaine was mesmerised. The spoon touched his lips and he automatically opened, letting the tiny girl feed him. She pulled the spoon away again, feeding herself another bite. Blaine sat, captivated by this little child, until the entire can was gone. She had alternated feeding him and herself, and seemed slightly subdued when the food was gone. She tried sticking her fingers in the remaining sauce, but cut herself on the jagged edges of the can.
Blaine snapped out of his reverie immediately, seeing the fat tears well up in the child's eyes. He slid forward, cradling her in his arms, hoping she wouldn't cry as loudly as some of the kids he had babysat. She allowed him to pull her into his arms, but although the tears fell, not a single sound left her lips. Blaine was grateful for the silence, but also incredibly worried. He picked her up and carried her back to his little box, digging out the emergency first aid kit he had put together before leaving Dalton.
He used a small wet wipe to clean the finger, discovering in the process that she was Caucasian. Her tiny, clean finger wrapped with a Band-Aid stopped the tears, and she snuggled into his side as he leaned against the back of the box. A minute snore alerted him to the fact that she had fallen asleep. He looked down at the small bundle of rags nestled into his side, and sighed once more.
As a child, Blaine had always been able to find lost or hurt animals. He'd had an area in the backyard devoted to patching up the strays he brought home. His mother had always loved helping him, but they were both very careful to make sure that any animals were long gone by the time Blaine's father got home for the day. His father had repeatedly told him: an animal has got to earn its right to stay with us. That had always been the reason to never have so much as a fish, right up until the day Corporal Anderson had beaten the living hell out of him, and he'd spent over a month recuperating in the hospital.
As Blaine watched the little girl sleep soundly beside him, he wondered when the last time she had felt safe enough to sleep had been. She had fallen asleep so quickly after eating, it had probably been a while. He wrapped his free arm around her, tucking her in close as he lay the blanket over them both. Closing his eyes and relaxing his body as much as he could, he allowed himself the luxury of the bit of warmth the child provided snuggled up to him, and fell asleep next to her.
As always, Blaine was awake before the sun rose. But to his surprise, as he opened his eyes, a pair of soft blue eyes met his own. His little snuggler had inched away from him after waking, and sat cross-legged nearly three feet away. Blaine shivered a bit, as she had taken the blanket with her when she had moved.
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and she scooted back a bit further, exiting the box where they had slept and slipping back over to where the cardboard box lay after being discarded last night.
"Hey," Blaine muttered, speech slightly slurred with sleep and blinking in the pre-dawn light. The girl scooted back another inch or two, her wide eyes watching him very closely. If he had to put a name to the emotion playing across her features, he would have said she was terrified.
"It's okay." Blaine rubbed his eyes a bit more, and yawned gently, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked back at her, his arms stretching wide over his head. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise," he assured her, looking around him at the piles of garbage littered around the lot. There were a lot of old wires and things that his young charge could get hurt on, he realised, keeping a mental note of the things he needed to clean up that afternoon. If she was this scared of him after having slept beside him all night, there was no way he was going to be able to get her to go with a stranger if he called the authorities. He would have to make due until she was confident enough with him to allow him to hand her over to someone who could really take care of her.
The girl stopped looking quite so scared, her hand coming up to cover her mouth in a yawn, in an exact imitation of his earlier gesture. Blaine had to smile at that, and she smiled softly in return. It looked a bit forced, and Blaine wondered if she had ever smiled for real in her life. She quickly returned back to her neutral face, making him believe she might have just been imitating him. She looked around her, and then stood up fully. When she stood, her head came level with his own. As he was still seated, he revised his earlier opinion of her age. She might actually have been around five or six, just incredibly small for her age.
She returned the blanket, not getting too close, but close enough to fling it in his general direction. His heart sunk in his chest, as he watched her make her way slowly to the opening in the fence.
"Wait!" he called, shoving his blanket back in the box, and standing quickly. He jumped over a number of broken planks of wood and followed her to the fence. She stood there, her small body taut, ready to run if she thought he was going to attack her. He smiled as gently as he could, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right.
"You have to check to make sure the coast is clear, okay?" Blaine slowly pulled the broken plank away from the others, his eyes peering out to make sure no one was there. He showed the little girl how to slip through without getting caught on the nails poking through, and together they managed to exit the abandoned lot. The girl slowly looked around, her eyes wide as she took in the early morning joggers, and the old woman walking the Shih-Tzu. Blaine reached down, his hand open and inviting, allowing her to take it if she wanted. Her eyes drifted to his hand, then to his face, and she hesitantly placed her good hand in his, tucking her bad wrist close to her body.
Blaine knew one thing in that moment. As the sun came up over the horizon, and he felt the gentle rays on his face, he knew that he loved this little girl. And that no matter what he did with the rest of his life, he would never forgive himself if he didn't take care of this child.
With that thought firmly entrenched in his mind, he gently pulled the child along, allowing her to stop and look at some pretty flowers, and to pet a cat on the way. He brought her to the one place he knew she would be one hundred percent safe: Margaret's.
Margaret's Café was run by one Miss Maggie Marie Davis. Everyone simply called her Miss Maggie though; she reported that she had been Miss Maggie through four major wars, the fall of the Twin Towers, Y2K and would still be around for the end of the world, if it should come in 2012 like everyone seemed to keep saying. She was in her late seventies, but still kept up her tradition of serving everyone who came in with a huge smile. She loved people, and loved her work, and was always a ray of sunshine in Blaine's otherwise dreary days.
When Miss Maggie watched Blaine walk in towing a tiny child with him, her heart nearly stopped. The first thing that came to her mind was how had Blaine allowed the child to get so filthy in the first place? But as she watched the interaction between the two, she realised that the child was in dire need of help, and Blaine was doing his best to comfort her. Miss Maggie immediately took things into her own hands, as always.
"Blaine, love, you bring that child right over here," Miss Maggie called from the other side of the counter, motioning to Blaine to bring the child around to the side of the kitchen. She winked at Charisma, her part-time waitress, and led Blaine and the girl to the back. Then she turned and looked at the child standing before her, a small sock hanging from her bad hand, the baggy clothes falling off one shoulder, her tiny feet encased in thick yellow rain boots regardless of the fact that there hadn't been rain in a couple of weeks. The girls' head was bowed, looking at the floor as the woman studied her.
"Child, my name is Miss Maggie. What's your name?" Maggie asked gently, her head tilting to the side as she waited for the answer. When it was clear none was forthcoming, Maggie looked at Blaine for answers. He shrugged.
"I found her last night, Miss Maggie. She found my… hiding spot…" His eyes fell, and his face flushed as Maggie nodded. She'd known for a while that his living arrangements weren't exactly perfect. "…I managed to convince her that I'm not a threat, I think. But I haven't heard a word from her since we met. I'm… well, I'm a bit worried about that, to be honest." The little girl's attention was then diverted from the conversation, as she heard the sweetest song in the entire world. She let go of Blaine's hand and walked quickly to the back part of the kitchen. Blaine kept an eye on her, but she stayed away from the fryers and the stove: all her attention was on the tiny canary kept in the cage by the back door. Blaine smiled, and so did Miss Maggie.
"She's helpless, Mags," Blaine murmured, trying to keep his voice down so as not to startle the child, who was so entranced by the bird no one else might have existed. "I want to help her, but the only thing I can think of to do is call child services and have them pick her up. I'm just afraid that if they do, she'll either run, or be so afraid she'll end up institutionalised. I mean, after what happened to me…" Blaine trailed off, his memories catching up to him from when he'd been hospitalised. Maggie nodded her head; she'd been around the block long enough to know how damaging it could be to take a child away from the one safe thing they had in their lives. And Maggie had been the first person Blaine had opened up to after running away, holding him while he'd cried silently for the loss of his childhood.
"Now dear, the first thing we need to do is get her all cleaned up. Why, with the amount of dirt on that child, we can't even tell if she's black or white!" Miss Maggie smiled, her pearly white teeth showing up strongly against her coffee black skin. "I'll help take care of that, if you're squeamish. I've looked after many a young girl in my time." Blaine smiled his thanks. He'd babysat little girls before, but he'd never bathed one, let alone one who was so shy and afraid of everything before. Besides, if she had been through half of the things his mind could think up, he supposed she would be happier to have a woman bathe her anyway.
Maggie advised Charisma and Chris, the chef, that she would be taking the rest of the day off, and was advised to "make sure that young'un comes back and gets fed proper!" She smiled and led both Blaine and the youngster up the back stairs to the little apartment she had made for herself above the shop when she had first bought the place, back in the early sixties.
Since the child had been so enthralled with Sami, Maggie's little canary, Maggie made sure that Blaine had grabbed her cage and brought the darling canary up to the apartment with them. As Blaine placed the cage on the kitchen table, the child reached forward to touch the cage lightly, and whistled a soft trill at the bird. Blaine froze, his hand resting on top of the cage, and looked over at Miss Maggie, who stared intently at the girl.
The girl whistled again, and the bird lightly trilled back the same three notes. The genuine smile that crossed the girls' face lit her up like the sun, and nearly brought Blaine to tears. Maggie smiled too, and the bird trilled once more, before cocking its little head at the girl, who whistled again.
"Come along, child," Maggie gently soothed, and the girl looked at the woman with the same smile. As she followed the motherly woman, she gave a quick glance back at Blaine, offering him that same shy smile. He made his way to the bird, slipping his finger through the cage to gently stroke the soft downy feathers as the two disappeared into the back bathroom. He was reminded of Pavarotti, back at Dalton. He'd loved being able to take care of the little bird, even if only for a short time.
After three minutes or so, he heard the girl give a quick scream, which scared the living daylights out of him. He jumped and turned towards the bathroom, in time to see a tiny, naked frame dash from the bathroom and straight into his arms. Holding her gently to him, he felt rather than saw the shaking of the small limbs in his arms. Her matted hair was all he could see of her head, as she had buried her face in his shirt. Placing one hand gently on her scalp, he looked up to see Miss Maggie emerging from the room, one hand placed over her heart.
"Bless her soul, the youngster is afraid of the water." Maggie murmured, sympathy in her brown eyes as she watched the young man cuddle the child. Blaine looked at her, his heart heavy as he realised that the child wasn't just dirty from being outside for so long. She had actively avoided water when and where she could. He looked carefully at Maggie, as if to say, well, what now?
"We can try to give her a sponge bath, if you don't mind helping, Blaine. She seems to trust you more than anyone right now." Blaine nodded, and Maggie went to fill a small bucket with the bubbly water she had filled the tub with, and a soft washcloth. Together, they managed to get the child clean for the most part. The big problem was still her hair. With it being matted, they seriously considered just chopping the whole thing off, but Blaine wanted to avoid that, if at all possible.
"She's young, it will grow back, Blaine," Maggie advised, but Blaine wouldn't hear of it. He wracked his brains trying to come up with a solution to their problem. Finally, he sat the girl down on the kitchen floor with the bucket beside them. A little at a time, he slowly rubbed the cloth through her hair, washing off the dirt as much as he could. He brought the bucket a little closer with every sponging, until her hair was literally hanging over the bucket. Then he showed her that the water wouldn't hurt her, by pouring a small cupful through the ends of her hair. When she realised it didn't hurt, she submitted to allowing him to pour more through her scalp, with her head over the bucket. It wasn't the easiest way to get her clean, but it did the trick, and after four bucket changes, she finally settled down enough to allow him to wash her hair with shampoo.
Maggie wasn't able to get down on the floor with Blaine to help, but watched his interaction with the child carefully, seeing the calm and loving way he coached her through her first bath. In her heart, she knew this child belonged with Blaine. No one would be able to care for her as well as he had, and Maggie had never seen anyone so incredibly gentle with such a broken child.
Once the bath was complete, and the child wrapped in a soft towel, Maggie stood and made her way to the bedroom.
"My grandbabies come to visit me sometimes, and they occasionally leave clothes here by accident. I'm sure I have something that will fit this beautiful girl. Give me a minute," she stated, and disappeared into the bedroom, returning a few minutes later with a small pair of jean shorts, a cute pink tee shirt, and a pair of sandals with little flowers on them. She also had a tiny pair of girls' underwear, and a pair of lavender coloured socks. Together, she and Blaine dressed the child in the adorable outfit.
Once the girl was dressed, she brought out a brush and a comb, handing both to Blaine as she cleaned up what little mess there was left from the bath. Starting at the ends, Blaine managed to pick out all of the snarls and tangles from the girls' hair, and when he had finally brushed it all out, it was the softest cloud of red curls he had ever seen. Her hair hung all the way down her back to her behind, which meant that stretched out, it would have been nearly to her knees. He sincerely doubted if she had ever had her hair cut in her entire life.
"That is by far one of the most beautiful children I have ever seen in my life, Blaine," Maggie whispered, her eyes bright with unshed tears at the sight of the poor girl. In the entire time she had been bathed, dressed, and combed, she had never once let go of the sock she had carried around. She kept it close, and Blaine finally had pointed out the small buttons sewn onto one end. It was a sock puppet; possibly the only toy she had ever had. Maggie was positive that Blaine was meant to take care of the girl, but had no idea how to convey this to Blaine without upsetting the girl. Together, they all made their way back down to the café. It was now lunchtime, and they set the girl up at a booth with a cheese sandwich and a small bowl of chicken noodle soup. Maggie pulled Blaine away to talk, for just a moment.
"Blaine, I'm worried about that wrist of hers. It was broke a while back, and she barely uses it; although I can't say as I blame her. It needs to be reset." Maggie took in the slight panic in Blaine's eyes as he thought of taking the girl to the hospital.
"Maggie, if I take her to the hospital, they'll call child services. I know they will. Then she'll be taken away, and…" His voice trailed off again, his heart in his throat as he worried about the girl.
"I know you're scared, child, but she needs medical attention. You really must do what's in her best interest, you know," Maggie lightly scolded, her full attention on Blaine. "If you don't take her, and it gets worse, what will they say when you finally do take her in, huh? You have to remember, boy. Just think about what happened to you…" Blaine took a deep breath, remembering. His eyes filled with tears as he thought about the beautiful, special little girl sitting so close. He never wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to feel loved, and cared for. Something he hadn't felt for a very long time. He took another deep breath, and then exhaled in a huff.
"Maggie, I'll take her. But… Will you come with us?" Blaine's pleading eyes looked over to the old woman beside him. "Just to… help?" Maggie looked over at the child, who had surreptitiously slipped half of her sandwich into each pocket, and was slowly slurping her soup. Her eyes began to droop as her energy levels faded, and Blaine and Maggie shared a soft smile as her head began to lower to the table.
"Blaine, sweetheart. I'll do whatever you need me to do. That child doesn't belong in the system. She has someone more than willing to love and care for her. But keep in mind, Love, that you aren't exactly in the most stable position to be raising a child yourself. Your hiding place," Maggie's fingers made quotation marks in the air. "Is not a suitable place for her to live, you know." She put her hand up to forestall the argument that Blaine had drawn a breath to launch. "I know you don't have much right now. Which is why, for the purposes of the hospital visit, we will be telling them that you are staying with me." Maggie waved down the excited grin coming from the young man beside her.
"However," and Maggie put emphasis on the next phrase, because it was something she would not repeat. "That means you actually will be staying with me. Both you and the child. Until such time as you feel you can support her on your own. My couch pulls out, and she can sleep there. There is a foldaway cot down here, which if you drag upstairs, will be more than sufficient for you as well. Don't look at me like that, Blaine," Maggie's eyes rolled as she took in the incredulous look Blaine sent her way. "I've been caring for kids for most of my life. I grew up raising my sisters and brother when my mother worked three jobs trying to raise us herself. I raised my own kids, and my niece and nephew, alone, when my man and his brother and sister in law were all gunned down just outside their apartment building in the seventies. I've even fostered a few kids. Another pair of sandals by my doorway won't hurt me at all."
Blaine's eyes filled completely with tears this time, and he reached forward, gingerly giving the old woman a hug as he stood up. She hugged him back, and motioned for him to take the child up the stairs and put her into the big bed in the bedroom. "We'll show her where her bed will be later." Blaine turned to gather the sleeping girl in his arms, but Maggie stopped him with one more question.
"Blaine, we can't just keep calling her the girl, or the child. She needs a name." Blaine looked down at the sleeping angel and smiled gently, his heart full of a love he hadn't known until that very moment that he possessed.
"With hair like that? Her name is Ariel, Mags. It couldn't be anything less."
So? What do you think? Oh, and don't worry! Just because Kurt isn't in the picture yet, doesn't mean he isn't coming. Not in the next chapter though. That's just a fair warning. What are your opinions on Miss Maggie? I loved writing in that sweet, tough old lady. Anyway, the next chapter just needs to have a couple of parts re-written, then I can post it. GleekMom, who happens to be my beta as well as simply loving this story, knows more about the US legal system than I do, and has kindly given me a LOT of help where it comes to how to proceed. So if you don't know who she is, go look her up: GleekMom on here and Tumblr, DebraEllen on Twitter. Read her stories, and tell her Poti sent you! She'd love to hear from you all, I know it! XD