Chapter 6, enjoy!

Warning: None at the moment...

Disclaimer in chapter 1

Teddy Bears and Tears

Chapter 6

Penny and I

"Uh, this isn't a plant, Brittany," Stephanie said, looking down at the large fish tank, "This isn't even a goldfish, Brittany, what were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that plants, although good for producing oxygen, suck eggs," Brittany said, looking inside of the tank, "I was thinking you needed something better, like a mammal, so I got you this!"

"It's a rat," Stephanie said, looking into the tank, "You got me a rat."

"Not a rat, a hamster," Brittany said, proudly, puffing her chest out and smiling at Stephanie, "And he has such a manly name too! Rex."

"Rex…" Stephanie trailed off, looking inside the fish tank, "Right…."

Rex was a light brown hamster with a white dot on his back, he was small and chubby and spent most of his time in a soup can, with his butt sticking out at the world. Brittany gave Rex an endearing smile and said, "He's adorable! And the children are going to love him."

Stephanie sighed as Rex turned in his soup can and looked up at the two women, with big brown eyes. She felt her heart melt a little and then she said, "Alright…he can stay, geez, he is kind of cute."

Brittany smiled proudly and said, "I know! That's why I got him! Now, tell me about the getting to know you meeting you had with the children!"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and said, "It was interesting, I can't really tell you much, but, I have three students, one is seven and the other two are 5. They're wards of the state, actually, picked by Dr. Ivan to join the school. They'll be living on campus, in the medical dormitories."

"Ah," Brittany said, looking down at the hamster and then picking up the small hamster, "That's…sad, maybe you can help them, Stephanie, I can't believe you start school tomorrow!

"Don't remind me!" Stephanie groaned, rubbing her face, feeling her fear prickle against her neck, "Ugh! I did my lesson plans, but, I'm so scared, I'm scared that I won't be a good enough teacher, oh god, why did I accept this job?!"

"Hey," Brittany said, sliding to her knees and placing a hand on Stephanie's knee, "Don't talk like that, do you know who would be so damn proud of you right now?"

"He would," Stephanie said, looking over to Brittany, and earning a bright smile.

"That's right, my big brother would be so freaking happy with you," Brittany said, standing up, "He was proud of everything that you did, Bernard…he was a good brother, he was a good husband, he was such a good man."

"Brittany?" Stephanie asked, getting up and going over to the young woman, "Brittany, are you okay?"

"It's times like these," Brittany sobbed, wiping her eyes, "Is when I miss my brother so much! I hate getting gushy and emotional."

"Oh, you silly, silly woman," Stephanie said, hugging Brittany to her, "You and Bernard, such emotional fools."

"I know!" Brittany wailed in Stephanie's chest, "I-I-oh! It's my phone!"

Brittany ran over to her cell phone and answered it with a quick, "Hello? Oh, Mr. Branch, no, I don't work today, oh, important client, wants to meet me? Yes sir, I'll be in soon."

Brittany hung up the phone and said, "I gotta go to work, see you tonight, make dinner?"

"I don't know," Stephanie hummed, earning a huff from Brittany, "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Brittany said, running out the classroom, "See ya!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and then turned as her phone went off. Stephanie grabbed it and answered it quickly.

"Stephanie, it's Ivan, I need to have a meeting with you, in about 30 minutes, I'm back from the case and we need to have a serious talk; you have another pupil joining your class. The parent and child will be joining us in the meeting."

"Okay," Stephanie said, sitting down in her seat, "Should I come to you, or go to the main area of the school?"

"No, no, we'll be at your classroom soon," Ivan said, chuckling softly, "I hope you've settled in good, see you soon."

Stephanie hung up the phone and then crossed her arms, looking out the window. She then turned to Rex and said, "Well, Rex, you get to meet your first student, hope you're ready!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"I like it here," A small voice said, making Carlos look up from what he was doing, "I wanna stay here forever."

"I don't know about forever," Carlos said, as he finished unpacking the rest of Heidi's clothes, "Mija, maybe there's a time in which you want to go out and see the world."

"No, I don't want to, I only want to stay with you, Daddy!"

Carlos closed his eyes and then resumed placing Heidi's clothes away. He turned to look at the child sitting at her small table, playing with her dolls. Today, Heidi was not in Heidi's body. Today, Penny was keeping Carlos company. Penny was the child in Heidi, the child that Heidi lost during her eight months in hell. She was bubbly, happy and full of life. She loved to hug everyone and she was trusting over everyone.

Too trusting of everyone, Carlos was afraid to take her out in public. Ivan had suggested they take Heidi out to the children's museum, on a slow day, and Penny made herself known. She had run off and almost went off with a strange person. After that incident, Carlos would not allow Heidi out of the house.

"Daddy, Auntie Frankie and Dr. Ivan, all live with me!" Penny said, as she picked up a doll, "And my dolls!"

Carlos had thought that the move from Miami to Trenton would be rough on Heidi. The move was actually easy on the child, since Penny had complete control over Heidi's body, and Penny was always happy. He asked Heidi's nurse, Frankie to move with them, and the nurse accepted the job and move offer. Dr. Ivan wasn't living with them, but he was a regular visitor at the Manoso household, coming every day for Heidi and four times a week for Carlos.

"Dr. Ivan doesn't live with us, Mija," Carlos said, walking over to Heidi and pulling off her dirty dress, "He lives 5 minutes away though, so, you're never too far away from Dr. Ivan."

"Dr. Ivan said I get to go to school soon!" Penny said, looking up at her father, a smile on her face, "Daddy…"

Carlos placed another dress on Heidi's frame and watched as his child deflated, "Penny?"

"Not Penny," The girl said, in a low voice, "I don't want to go to school, Penny is dumb…people can hurt us."

The girl turned and glared up at Carlos, "You can hurt us…you bastard!"

Carlos quickly backed away from Heidi who hissed and jumped up from the table, growling. Gone was the sweet faced little girl and in her placed was an angry girl. This was a personality he had yet to meet. This one was hurt and angry.

"Stay away from us!" The girl shrieked, reaching out and grabbing one of the dolls, "I hate you all, you can hurt us, stay away from us, or I'll kill you!"

"You need to calm down, Mija," Carlos said softly, holding his hands up and moving away from Heidi, "Mija, it's Papi, I won't ever hurt you…"

"LIAR!" The girl screamed, advancing on Carlos, "Lies, that's all you know, fucking lies, you fucking bastard! I hate you!"

"Dios!" Carlos had to grab Heidi as she began to hit him with the doll, "Mija! Mija! You need to calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, promise you!"

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" The girl screamed, struggling in Carlos's arms, "LET ME GO, NO! I DON'T WANT IT! LET ME GO! HELP ME, MOMMY! DADDY! STOP THE BAD MEN! STOP THEM!"

"My goodness," Frankie's voice said over the screaming, "hang on, I have a sedative on the ready."

The girl in Carlos's arm screamed loudly s Frankie injected her in the thigh with a mld sedative. She struggled for a while, before slowing down, sobbing and then falling asleep, in Carlos's arms."

"What in the hell was that, Mr. Manoso?!" Frankie asked, looking down at Heidi's frame, "What happened?!"

"A new personality, I have no idea," Carlos said softly, looking at the nurse, "Maybe two…I feel as though there were two personalities fighting for control."

Frankie shook her head and said, "The poor child, I'll call Ivan…"

Carlos slid down the wall and gently rocked Heidi in his arms. He kissed her forehead saying, "Mija, I'm going to fix, you, if you can't fix yourself, I'll fix you…"

The negative feelings that Carlos had felt since finding his child had dimmed in the back of his head. No longer a heavy shadow on his shoulders, it was now just a mere nagging that he could easily ignore. The anti-depressants helped him focus on helping Heidi with her illness. This wasn't an illness that could go away with pills or medicines, Heidi would need intense sessions with Ivan and maybe other methods.

"If she gets worse," Ivan had told him, before they moved from Miami to Princeton, "We might have to commit her."

Carlos closed his eye and inhaled Heidi's scent. That hurt him more than he could ever voice it. He couldn't let his child go into a mental institution. God, that would…if she got committed, then they might as well commit him as well.

"Hey, Frankie called me," Ivan said, front the doorway of Heidi's room, "Two new personalities?'

"Yes, one was very dangerous, she came out swinging, and then, when I grabbed Heidi, she freaked out, screaming about not wanting it, dios, what did those monsters do to her…."

"Not good," Ivan muttered softly, looking down at Heidi, "Not good at all, do you want to cancel the meeting, maybe push back her going to school for a month or two?"

"No, she is so far behind in her education, she's forgotten her alphabets, numbers, god, we were working so well with her, this is going to set us back so far," Carlos said, looking down at Heidi, "I want her to feel normal, I need for her to feel normal."

"It will help her," Ivan said softly, sitting down beside the man and child, "I'll call her teacher, we'll set up a meeting this afternoon."

"Good," Carlos said, running his fingers through Heidi's wild black hair, "I just want Heidi to find happiness again."

"I know you do," Ivan said, standing up, "But, you should find some happiness as well, don't forget about yourself."

"I'll be fine," Carlos muttered, getting up, with Heidi in his arms, "I'll just worry about Heidi, before anything happens to me."

Carlos placed Heidi's sleeping form on the bed, slipped her shoes on her small feet and then picked her up, turning to Ivan, "Well, let's go, I want her back in bed soon, she had a rough moment."

"Yeah," Ivan said, calling Heidi's new teacher, "Alright let's go."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Dr. Ivan, it's good to see you again, it's been a good month," Stephanie said, as the doctor came into the classroom, looking around, "Oh, I did add some more things to the room, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, it look great," Ivan said, before he turned and motioned for someone to enter the classroom, "Ms. Ronald, I'd like for you to meet your new pupil and her father."

Stephanie watched as a man of Latin American descent walked into her class room. He was dashingly handsome, with mocha latte skin, warm chocolate brown eyes, and a built body. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a buttoned up shirt, with a pair of black loafers. The man had a child in his arms, a little girl, who was waking up slowly, her arms wrapped around his neck. She was dressed in a sunshine yellow dress and white slip on sandals.

"Hello," Stephanie said, with a smile, looking at the man, "My name is Stephanie Ronald, I'm the new kindergarten teacher."

"Ms. Ronald," The man said, sticking a hand out so that Stephanie could shake it, "Carlos Manoso, nice to meet you, and the little one in my arms is my daughter; Heidi."

"Not Heidi," The girl said sleepily, blinking her eyes, "Penny, Daddy…"

"I'm sorry, this is Penny," Carlos said, as Penny turned to look at Stephanie, "Say hello, Penny."

"Hello," Penny said softly, giving Stephanie a shy smile, "Nice to meet you…"

"Hello, Penny, say, would you like a snack? You can snack and color, while Daddy, Dr. Ivan and I talk," Stephanie asked the child, earning a head nod from Penny."

"I like coloring," Penny said, with shy smile, getting down from her father's arms and holding out her hand for Stephanie, "Pink is my favorite color…"

"Is it?!" Stephanie gasped, grabbing Penny's hand and leading her over to the arts and craft table, "I like purple, but I do have lots of pinks for you to color with, some even have glitter in them."

Stephanie settled the girl down at the table, with a juice box and a handful of animal crackers, before the adults sat around the teacher's desk to talk. Ivan smiled and said, "I see Penny likes you already, good, but, I must tell you, the child is very sick."

Stephanie felt horror creep up her throat as both Ivan and Carlos told her what had happened to Heidi. The poor child, how could she have survived something like that?!

"I thought it best that Heidi pursue her education here, in a safe environment, with a full medical staff on call," Ivan said, turning to where Heidi sat, coloring, "Now, you've been trained to handle a lot of things, but a child with different personalities was not on the docket. Do not worry, if a problem occurs, call me, I will be here quickly. I've experiences with this illness."

Stephanie nodded her head and then turned to Carlos asking, "How are you feeling, Mr. Manoso, I can't imagine how you feel, my goodness, that poor child."

"Getting by," Carlos said, taking a out a folder and passing it to Stephanie, "Don't worry about me, Ms. Ronald, just take excellent care of my child, when she's at school. Here is a list of her allergies and the likes."

"Thank you," Stephanie said, opening the folder and looking down at the contents, "I will take great care of Heidi, while she's at school. I have a child of my own, you know, she's 24, but, I consider her my child."

"You never told me that!" Ivan said, rounding on Stephanie, "Tell me, who's your child?"

"Brittany Ronald, my sister in law, she's been living with-" Stephanie started but Ivan cut her off with a low, "Interesting….very interesting…."

Ivan got up from his seat and then walked away from the desk. Carlos gave Stephanie a look and said, "He does that from time to time…"

Stephanie chuckled and said, "Now, we can take a look at my lesson plans, Dr. Ivan told me that Heidi would be behind the class, but I can still give her one on one time, if need be, come here, let's take a look…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Brittany, I had a wonderful afternoon, I met my new pupil and she's so sweet, a little ill but very sweet and her father is handsome as well!" Stephanie shouted, entering the house, "Brittany, I also got something to make dinner tonight, I hope you like pasta!"

Stephanie paused, looking inside the dark hallway. Brittany was usually the first to thunder down the stairs, at the prospect of food, where in the hell was she?!

Stephanie placed the grocery bags on the floor and then made her way upstairs, hearing the sounds of the shower running. Stephanie walked into Brittany's room, which was dark. Stephanie made her way over to the bathroom, hearing the shower on and opened the door and turning on the lights. Stephanie let out a shriek seeing Brittany, curled up in a ball, on the floor of the shower stall, banging her head on the wall, rocking back and forth, her eyes wide open and her trembling blue lips mouthing something.

"Brittany!" Stephanie said, running over to the shower stall and turning off the icy cold water, "Jesus, you're ice cold, come on!"

Stephanie grabbed a towel and wrapped the woman up in it. She dried her off quickly and then had her in the bed, with an electric blanket and a hot water bottle tucked under her back. Stephanie slipped her shoes off and her wet clothes before slipping in the bed with Brittany. She kissed the woman's trembling frame and whispered, "Brittany, what happened, tell me, please, sweetie."

Stephanie felt Brittany's body fill up with air and she began to sob loudly, turning and curling into Stephanie's frame. She gripped the woman tightly and whimpered, "Don't let go of me, Mommy, stay here with me…"

"Oh, you poor thing," Stephanie said, hugging Brittany to her and rocking her slightly, "What happened to you, what happened?"

TBC….

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