Authors Note: It's been a very rough past couple of months, that is why it is taking me so long to get back to this fanfiction and my other. However, I've found a nice happy medium in my life and I have the extra time to get back to my fanfictions, so expect lots more to follow. :3 Especially, seeing as I've got all five chapters of this plotted out, just not written, expect to see it finished soon. Anyways, without a further ado, I give you the second chapter of "Are You My Mother?" Which will focus mainly on Shelly and the daycare.
"Are you my Mother?" Hope wonders again as she's staring up at Shelly with a smile on her face. She's been at Shelly's home daycare (and sometimes dogcare) for quite a while now and as this particular day comes to a close, she can't help but think about her Mother again.
It became obvious to the little girl that Maw-Maw wasn't her Mother, but that didn't help her situation, it only narrowed it down by one suspect and she wasn't any closer to finding her Mother. But then little Tommy from down the street had told her that she was going about it all wrong, that a Mother was someone who spent a lot of time with you, and Hope knew exactly where to start searching from there. How could she have missed it before when it was right there for her to see.
Shelly spent every day with Hope, so she had to be her Mother!
It was now. When almost everyone, except for a few kids and a dog, had gone home, that she could finally find out the answer to the question that had been puzzling her so. Whether or not Shelly was her Mother. So, like all of the boys had shown her, she toddled over to Shelly and began to tug on her leg. "Up!" Hope would demand.
As the daycare lady obliged, the little girl let out a toothy smile, burying her face deep into Shelly's neck and smiled brightly. It was so clear to her now, Shelly was definitely her Mother. Not only did she take care of her properly like a real Mother did, she spent time with the little girl and obviously cared about her a lot. There was no doubt in Hope's little mind that she had finally found herself a Mother, now if only she could find a way for her Daddy to see that.
And then it all went south for Hope.
"Shelly! I d-don't wanna go h-hoooomeeee!" One of the older girls started to cry hysterically as her after-daycare Nanny showed to pick her up, she was in the middle of painting a picture and like every other time her Nanny showed instead of her parents, she was going throw a fit about leaving. Hope tried to turn in Shelly's arms to stick her tongue out at the girl, Mandy.
This was her Mother, and Mandy could cry all she wanted but Hope wasn't going to lose her Mother for no-
"I'm coming Manders! Let's see about wrapping up that picture for later... Down you go, Hope!" Shelly smiled brightly and Hope knew that her time with her Mother was going to be cut short by the snivelling little crybaby that Mandy was. She wasn't serious was she? There was no way that Shelly would put her down and go be with another kid, right?
The toddler began to squawk as she was set down onto the ground and Shelly tickled her under her chin just a little bit to say sorry before running over to see if she could help Mandy's Nanny with the struggling Mandy.
Hope crossed her arms in a huff and tears began to fall from her eyes, her Mother wasn't supposed to spend time with everyone! That wasn't how a Mother worked was it? She didn't know what was going on and it was starting to distress her a little bit, before she heard the most wonderful noise coming from the front of the daycare, where all the parents showed up to get their kids.
"There's my favourite girl!" The little girl spun around on her tiny little feet to face the source of the noise.
When she saw who was there waiting for her, the tears were gone and a smile lit up on her face, it was such a nice surprise to see someone else other than Daddy pick her up, especially when it was one of her second favourite people ever. That almost made the whole distressing, losing her Mother to ugly sobbing Mandy situation just a little bit better.
"Bina!" She let out a cry as she started to toddler over to Sabrina as fast as her little legs could possibly carry her. The woman in question dropped down to her knees and opened her arms up tightly so that the girl could fling herself into them and bury herself deep into them.
Sabrina lifted Hope up onto one hip with a smile and gave her a big hug. "I've missed you munchkin." She started to walk over to Shelly, to tell her that Jimmy was working late and Sabrina had been told to take Hope home with her, she knew it'd be okay since almost everyone at the daycare knew that Jimmy and Sabrina had started to date, besides Sabrina was a family friend at the very least.
Hope clung tightly to Sabrina's shirt, babbling away about everything she had done today in the most basic of toddler speak. "I played blocks." She regailed her tale of the great block tower as the older woman holding her laughed and brushed her hair back. "I paint!" Maybe if Sabrina was lucky, Hope would decided to give her the pretty flower she had painted for her 'Mother.' If Shelly was too busy with Mandy then Hope was too busy with Sabrina.
"Sabrina, I drew you a picture!" One of the four year old boys had an immense crush on the girl, for all the times she had helped Shelly out on short notice.
Immediately Hope felt the green dragon on jealousy rear it's ugly head. Was Sabrina going to put her down and instead talk to him instead? Was she going to lose Sabrina just like she lost Shelly, to a stupid kid that wanted to steal all of her attention. She was about to start pouting and maybe stick her tongue out at the boy when her father's girlfriend intervened. "Oh, that's nice Timmy." Sabrina deadpanned, Hope smiling because she had heard that tone of voice whenever her Daddy said something Sabrina didn't really care about at all. "But I'm here to be with my little Hope, so... Bye."
That made the little girl absolutely happy and all she could think about as she snuggled into Sabrina's neck and chest, preparing for the decent walk home after Sabrina told her cousin about taking Hope was how Shelly could not be her Mother.
Hope knew that the daycare teacher loved her, but she also loved all of the kids at daycare and Hope decided that if she had a Mother, this Mother would have to only care about her for now. Hope was definitely not ready to share the spotlight with any other children, especially not a lot of them, so Shelly couldn't be her Mother. Her Mother would need to love her and only her.
And as Hope was brought home, hands curled in Sabrina's t-shirt with a big smile on her tired face, she was secretly wondering who it was then who could be her Mother.
