Here you go. Love and thank you's to all, especially Mecha for being made of complete awesome. Review on you way out.
Chapter 8
"It's not 'now or never'
It's not black and it's not white.
Anything worth anything takes more than a few days
And a long, long night."
Deb Talan, Big Strong Girl
Dr. Stein leaned forward, hands hanging from limp wrists, arms on her knees. "Sophie? Can you play with that puzzle so I can have a grown up talk with your ema?"
Sophie nodded, disinterested, and turned back to her puzzle. Dr. Stein stood and led Ziva to the adjacent corner. She adjusted her glasses as she searched through Sophie's file. For the first time, Ziva noticed a small picture on the doctor's desk of a smiling teenage girl in a graduation cap and gown. She held her diploma proudly. She felt a pang of longing but covered it up with worry- would Sophie ever stand in that girls place, self-assured and accomplished in the warm summer breeze?
Dr. Stein snapped her out of her reverie. "I want to talk to you about the quarterly report you gave me from Sophie's school. While I know she is learning a lot and using that knowledge to make tremendous progress at home, I am worried about her social anxiety. Her teachers cited that she only plays with adults, and is jumpy and anxious around the other children."
Ziva nodded, pensive. When she picked up Sophie from her classroom, she always found her next to sweet Ms. Anna, whom she knew her daughter adored.
"What can we do to help with this social anxiety?"
Dr. Stein sighed and tucked a stray grey hair behind her ear. "I want to start small and build so that eventually Sophie will become more and more confident. I want you to invite a friend from her class over to your house for a play date one afternoon. Make it comfortable for her- take out familiar things she likes to do, make her favorite snack, and stay with them while they play so she feels at ease. Because her class has all SM kids, her friend is likely to be around the same level of comfort in these kinds of situations. If it goes well, I am confident Sophie will start to climb out of her shell a little more each day. Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns."
"What if she does not…do well?" Ziva begged.
The doctor hemmed a little. "We can re-evaluate afterward and see where we stand, but 'failure' is not necessarily a bad thing, Ziva. It can help us decipher where Sophie's anxiety is coming from and how to best help her."
"Thank you," Ziva respond warily. She picked up her daughter, who immediately gave her a peck on the cheek and waved to Dr. Stein as they headed out the door.
"Sophie? How would you feel about me calling Lila's mother and inviting them over for a play date?" She asked as she buckled the car seat. Sophie frowned.
"Why?" She puzzled. "I only want to play with you and Daddy."
Ziva grimaced and rubbed Sophie's arm. "That is why we want you to have a play date, motek. You need to have friends your own age that you can play with at school or at home- friends you will have more fun with than Daddy and I."
"I want you." Sophie whispered, eyes filling and voice shaky with tears.
Ziva wiped them away and kissed her forehead. "You still get us, honey. Just because you have friends doesn't mean Daddy and I stop loving you, or stop being your parents. It just means you have more people who love you."
Sophie seemed to ponder this, sticking her thumb in her mouth. Ziva stroked her hair for another minute before climbing in the drivers seat and backing away, towards home.
….
Tony opened the door with cold, clumsy fingers, and was relieved that the house was as warm as it was.
"Daddy!" Sophie exclaimed. She ran at him and gave a little-girl hug around his leg.
He picked her up, swooping her over his head and smiling into her face before settling her on his hip. "Hi, baby," he crooned, holding her close. She was more snuggly and affectionate these days and he loved it. "How was your play date with Lila? Did you find any pirate treasure? Climb a mountain? Draw a new masterpiece for the Louvre?"
She put both hands on his cheeks and ignored his question. "Its 'sketti for dinner. Come see."
He toed off his shoes and wandered into the kitchen. Ziva stood over the stove; hand on her hip, moving sizzling pieces of sweet Italian sausage around in a frying pan. She would add it to the marinara sauce later.
"Lucy, I'm home!" he called playfully.
Sophie giggled. Ziva turned around and kissed him on the mouth, smiling playfully. He'd bought her a box set of the best of I Love Lucy for Christmas the year before and she loved it. Lucille Ball stuffing chocolates in her mouth never failed to make her laugh.
"Hello Ricky. Would you set the table, please?"
He obliged, and soon they were seated at the dinner table. The phone rang, but they ignored it. There was a beep of the answering machine and then "Hi, this is Andrea Crane calling, just wanted to-"
Ziva snapped out of her seat and picked up the phone before the social worker could finish leaving her message.
Sophie's back stiffened and he face went red. "You're not going anywhere," Tony assured her, and she nodded. He opened his arms. She climbed into his lap and popped her thumb in her mouth. This was obviously the end of their family evening.
He strained to hear Ziva's end of the conversation from the living room- there were yes's and the occasional of course before she hung up and returned to the kitchen. She put the phone back in its rightful place and sat down, eyes wide, a smile playing on her fine features.
"What's up?" He asked, gut churning. He feared the worst- a long lost uncle from Kentucky coming to steal Sophie out of his arms.
Ziva gave him a watery smile, and placed a hand on Sophie's back.
"Sophie is legally free," she finally said. "We'll need to get in touch with our lawyer right away, but we are in the preliminary period. If all continues to go smoothly and Andrea believes this is a good fit, then we will be on the road to finalization."
His found himself speechless, floored, mouth opening and closing. He began to cry, and so did Ziva. They hugged Sophie tightly, laughing a little.
Sophie looked up, confused. "What?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. She was adorable, with her big brown eyes and cupids bow mouth. She would be a heartbreaker one day, he decided.
Ziva kneeled down so they were face-to-face, noses almost toughing. "Ms. Andrea called to tell us that we are getting closer to adopting you- to officially making you our daughter forever."
Sophie looked at them a long time. "That's good news," she finally said, and they laughed.
"Yeah, baby," He breathed. "It's good news."
….
Tony flopped onto the couch next to Ziva and put his arm around her. She put down her book and leaned her head against his chest.
"So, how was her play date?" he asked. "I couldn't get a straight answer from her."
Ziva sighed wearily- she was tired, and shrugged half-heartedly. "Okay, I suppose. It was like pulling molars trying to get them to interact with one another."
"Puling teeth," He corrected.
"Whatever. Eventually they were happy playing with clay, and Lila made some efforts to play together, but Sophie was not having it. She kept looking around for me, making sure I was still there, that sort of thing. Lila's mother recommended a mixed ability playgroup they go to. Maybe it would be less pressure for her if it was not one on one."
Tony nodded. "That makes sense."
Ziva pulled away from him slightly so she could look him in the eye. She was angry, he could tell. "Her mother never taught her how to socialize. She consistently ignored her, and when she did interact with her, it was only negatively. Sophie has no concept of healthy socialization. She is afraid of people her own age, I think."
Tony's gut churned a little. Ziva was right, and it worried him. "I want her in occupational therapy as well, "she continued. "I will call Andrea for her permission as soon as business tomorrow. I want her to feel more independent, and her fine motor skills are very poor."
"Sounds like a plan". He pulled her close again. "We can do this, you know."
She nodded against his chest. "I know."
