Chapter 20
Emma waited in the room. They were at the hospital. She had been planning to come here for a while since she was going to enroll Shu and Reiji to school. Since she was technically not a real mother, she wanted to see how to bond with the children. She also wanted to know if she was parenting them properly which is why she was planning to see a behavior test for the six boys.
The boys were calmly playing in the waiting room after Emma had done some paperwork. She had voiced about this to Paul a few days ago and when she was wondering how to get any documents of the boys, it was mailed to her the next day. Birth certificates and other identification papers. She knew that someone was observing her and it still feels strange. Karlheinz was watching her every move and she worries that she might make a mistake to anger him.
"Emma Williams?"
She looked to see an older woman who she assumed was the therapist. She quickly stood up.
"Yes." Emma answered. They introduced each other.
"We'll be observing how you play with the kids." The therapist said.
She nodded a bit quickly, causing the therapist to smile.
"Don't worry, just play with them like you normally do."
She nodded once more but a bit relaxed. She and the boys were guided to a playroom. The boys looked at the room in awe before rushing to play with the toys.
Emma took a deep breath and decided to be her normal self.
She had to divide her attention to each of the boys as they played.
With Subaru on her lap, she calmly communicated with the boys. The therapist stood and silently observed. Luckily, the boys still continued to play and ignored her.
"Rhino." Shu said as he pulled the toy animal from the shelf.
Emma smiled at him. "Do you know which his friends are?" She asked. She had taught him this before when they read a children book.
He began pulling out any animals that he thought were friends with the rhino. He was grouping the safari animals together.
"Cat." Shu said as he put the feline between the rhino and zebra.
"No." Reiji suddenly interrupted. He took the cat away.
Shu looked at his little brother confused before trying to reach for the cat.
"You're wrong." Reiji said as he took the cat away from Shu.
"Why?" Shu asked. He turned to look at Emma.
"A cat isn't friends with a rhino." She told him. Shu gave a small frown at her answer.
Shu turned to look at the other animals. "What's this?" He asked as he held out an animal.
"That's a gazelle." She answered. He repeated the word and put it next to the lion.
"Don't put it next to the lion." She told him.
"Why?" Shu asked.
"The lion will eat the gazelle." She answered. Shu looked at the lion before putting the gazelle beside the zebra.
Subaru struggled before he got of her lap to play with the building blocks.
Emma moved closer to watch him play. His hand reached towards the toy castle. His fingers fiddled with the door. Emma realized he was having trouble and helped him open the castle door. He played with the princess and the knights for a while before turning his attention elsewhere.
Emma noticed the triplets were starting to fight amongst themselves. She stopped them.
"Stop fighting." She scolded them.
"I want it!" Ayato shouted as he reached for the toy in Laito's hand. Emma caught his hand.
"No grabbing." She added.
"Who had it first?" She asked gently.
"Me!" Laito answered.
"No! Me!" Kanato retorted.
"But Laito has it." Emma told him.
"He grab it!" Kanato accused.
"No!" Laito said.
"Give it!" Ayato shouted. They began hitting one another.
"Since you three keep fighting, you can't have this." She stated as she took the toy from Laito. The triplets whined and cried but Emma stayed with her decision until they calmed down.
"It's time for the one on one tests." The therapist said. Emma looked up at the older woman.
"Already?" Emma asked. She nodded.
Emma turned to look at Shu who curiously looked at the therapist.
"It's okay, just follow her." Emma assured.
Shu nodded and held the nurse's hand and left the room. Fifteen minutes passed and it was Reiji's turn. Reiji was a bit confused but followed the nurse. Shu came into the room and continued playing.
Every fifteen minute, it was the next boys turn to do the behavior test. Once that was over, the therapist went to talk to Emma privately.
"In terms of development…" She said as she looked through her documents.
"They're growing well." The therapist assured. Emma gave a small smile.
"With Shu, he's very friendly and talkative." She explained. "It's good that whenever he asks questions, you would answer them. You are a bit pessimistic though. When you told him that the lion would eat the gazelle, it made him lose interest in the toys."
Emma gave an embarrassed chuckle.
"His linguistic skills are really good for his age. It would be best if you asks questions instead of answering directly first. For example when he had put the cat with the rhino, you would ask him 'Why do you thing the cat is friends with the rhino?'" She explained.
Emma nodded as she listened to the therapist, making sure to remember her advices.
"Reiji's thinking skills are better than his age group. When Shu was playing with the animals, he was arranging the animals in groups of mammals, reptiles and others. Yet when the other boys were rushing around playing, Reiji stayed close to you. He's dependent on you and very timid. It would be best to help him be more independent."
"The triplets are a different case. At their age, they are learning right or wrongs which is why sometimes they talk back."
"Ayato from how he plays and interact with his brothers, he's more of a leader. He doesn't like people telling him what to do. Laito also seems to talk back however he still listens. Kanato is a bit timid compared to them."
"Each of the triplets is fussy but it's normal for their age."
"Since Subaru is the youngest, you sort of helicopter around him." The therapist stated. "Whenever he goes somewhere, you follow him. His linguistic skills aren't developing properly because you already know what he wants before he asks. When he wants a toy, you take it for him. When he can't open something, you open it for him."
"It's best if you ask him what he wants to do and let him tell you. Otherwise it might affect his self esteem."
She explained for a few more minutes before it was time for them to leave. Emma nodded and thank the therapist before they left.
"Who wants ice cream?" She said to the boys when they arrived at the lobby.
"Me!" Ayato said. The triplets playfully shoved each other and ran to the entrance.
"Don't run!" Emma called out.
Ayato ran faster and he turned back to smile only to be knocked over when he bumped into someone. Ayato cried from the sudden impact.
"Are you alright?" The man asked and helped Ayato stand up. Without saying a thank you, the redhead rushed back towards Emma.
Emma stared at the man. From his attire, he was a doctor.
"Mike?" She called out in surprise.
He noticed her sister and grin. However, his eyes looked at Subaru and trailed down to the other boys in confusion.
Emma's surprise soon turned into panic as her brother looked back at her expecting an explanation.
A/N: The appearance of Emma's brother is finally here! Don't forget to favorite, follow and review! As always see you next time!