Warning, may need an abundance of tissues!
*IRs (Incident Reports)
Chapter 21
"These past few months, since returning from Kansas, Taylor has shown great improvement, than she has, in the past." Mindy was reading off the report she had made of the girl's progress. "When she was picked up, Taylor was still mute, as she has been, for several years. No one is aware what was going on, the last two years, as Taylor was slipped through the cracks, as some foster kids do, sometimes. Thankfully, she was found by two long lost adult brothers and seems to have been taken care of. The oldest had even reported to us, seeing bruises where her clothes covered up, though nothing could be investigated, further, due to the death of both foster parents, other than they were revealed to be a couple with criminal history of extreme child abuse."
Sam and Dean looked over at each other. So, Crowley was telling the truth.
"Taylor has yet to reveal to us, what happened during her stay with the Hills, who were revealed to be Greg and Amy Donnerson. It was three weeks until we were able to find Taylor, living with her brothers. Since then, the brothers have been working with me, in gaining custody of their sister, and have shown quick progress. They had even moved states and obtained jobs, and has kept them, saving up for an apartment. Up to this current point, the brothers has met all of the requirements, and has even went above and beyond, in participating in therapy sessions, recreational activities, and has yet to miss a visit. Because of their involvement, Taylor has seem to come out of her shell, even interacting more with a roommate in the group home. Both the group home staff and her therapist has reported, hearing Taylor speak, for the first time, in nine years. The child has not spoken since she was a toddler."
"However," Mindy continued, "even with the progress, Taylor shows she is still dealing with the struggles of the past. We are not sure if it is just about the incident, involving a past foster father, or if it is her overall past, or two years with the Hills. We do know that, whether intentional or not, one of Taylor's brothers, Sam, is one of the triggers of these memories. According to the therapist, Emily, Sam has been able to help Taylor to cope, even if it means, being bitten, as stated by group home staff. The group home staff signing her up for soccer, seems to help the siblings "bond" and help Taylor to relax around her brother, while she had, instantly, "bonded" with the other brother, Dean, over shared interest in music." Dean glanced over at Rebecca, hoping she was paying extra attention to that part. "Taylor has shown to have formed a full attachment to her oldest brother, crying for him, in her sleep and not wanting him to leave, once a visit is over. I feel that attachment might become dangerous, if not dealt with. The important thing to note is that, at least, Taylor is opening up to someone and her brothers might be the ones that finally help Taylor to open up and heal, as we never could get the full stories from her point of views of the IRs reported."
"Taylor continues to show acts of violence when confronted, lashing out towards caregivers, another peer, and even towards her own brother, as stated above. For the most part, the violent behaviors has only been physical, except for her brother, who Taylor, verbally lashed out at him, declaring her hatred for him. It was, later, revealed that she was not declaring her hatred for Sam, but, for a previous foster parent, she was removed from and charged with sexual abuse. The memories seem to prevent Taylor from receiving physical comfort from her brother, but, still tries, "not wanting to be scared, anymore," as Taylor states towards Sam. After discussing with Emily, we have come to agreement that Sam could possibly be the one that Taylor opens up to, since he is, slowly, laying down trust and an open communication with his sister."
Sam, who had been listening, as he stared at the middle of the table, perked up, when he heard, Mindy and Emily had faith he could be the one who got through to Taylor. He hadn't even thought of it, himself. Though, Sam had to admit, it seemed like he had to put in more effort than Dean, who was, easily bonding with Taylor, a lot more. Surely, it would be Dean, who got through to Taylor, not him. But, thinking back to what she had written in her letter, it would make sense Taylor would come to him, first, when she was ready.
Dean couldn't help feel a little envious Mindy and Taylor's therapist felt their brother might be the one that got through to their sister. He did want Taylor to open up, and, secretly, wanted it to be him, as he's the oldest and felt, as the oldest, he should be there, protecting his younger siblings. Now, though, Dean had to get used to the idea that he wasn't the only big brother, anymore. Sam was a big brother, too, and also wanted to look out for their sister, and wants to protect her, just as much, if not more.
"Taylor continues to show interest in the arts, drawing in her free time, especially now that she has her own sketchbook and colored pencils, given to her, also by Sam. While living in the group home, Taylor participated in the arts and crafts group, led by a volunteer, who would come, every Monday and was one of the few that didn't need to be told, twice, to come down and participate." Everyone, at the table, smiled, at hearing about Taylor joining in the arts and crafts group. "Besides, the arts, Taylor has taken an interest in sports. She is, currently, playing soccer, and continues to participate, even after being moved, enjoying it. Her brothers has made an effort to come to every game, only missing one, due to high traffic. Taylor displayed huge grief when neither one showed, showing us, again, how much of an impact they are making on her. Taylor had come to forgive Dean and Sam, even when Dean stated, she could be upset with them, and continued on with the visit. Dean and Sam also has shown us just of the effort they were putting in, by racing to Taylor's aid when told of an incident, involving another peer, and Taylor gaining a black eye and being removed from the group home. After refusal of an ice pack, it was Dean who persuaded Taylor to let us put ice on her eye. Overall, most of the progress made, has been because of her brothers and hope Taylor continues from here on out." Mindy finally finished reading the report, looking up at the rest of the group. "Would anyone like to add to what I had written, or does anyone have any thoughts?"
Helen raised her hand.
"Yes, Helen," she nodded over at the oldest person in the group.
"I am more than thrilled for the wonderful progress, our Taylor is making," Helen told the group. "I had hoped and waited for the day, she would open up, again, and be the bright, playful girl Taylor used to be. I am also glad, we found family willing to take her and are making a positive impact on her life. I am saddened that it took losing Taylor, to find them, but, happy that something good came from it, and I fear for what might have happened to Taylor, during the last two years. However, I don't think we should put all our eggs into one basket. Just because Sam, here," she held a hand out, towards him, "is making an effort, does not mean he will be the one she opens up to. There is Emily, myself, you," he motioned over towards Mindy, with the same hand. "And, on that note. If Sam is raising up, all these memories, then why is Taylor having unsupervised visits with him, already? If lash-outs are occurring, someone needs to be there, to oversee the visits, and make sure no one is getting hurt."
Emily spoke up. "I haven't seen the lash-outs, myself. The last time the memories, surfaced, Taylor struggled, but, did not throw a punch and I thought Sam handled the situation, pretty well, holding her and comforting Taylor, until she was able to come back to the present."
Sam raised a hand, halfway, not wanting to interrupt, but, did want to chime in. When Mindy gave the okay, for Sam to say his peace, he added, "I try to be careful, now, with making sure Taylor doesn't lash-out. It seems handing her, an object, or moving towards her, suddenly, is what triggers them. So, I don't approach Taylor. Instead, I let her, approach me, or I ask for her permission, and if it's a public setting, I don't even try to encourage a hug. I did notice, last Saturday, nothing triggered, when I offered a cough drop or handed her, her ball."
"Or, when I gave her, back her snacks, she gave me, to hold, while her and our friend, Cas went to kick the ball around," Dean added.
"I, also, feel safe, leaving Sam, unsupervised, with his sister," Rebecca also added. "During their visit, last week, Taylor wanted to learn how to ride a bike. So, I let her and Sam take the bike, out front, and they went around the neighborhood. No incidents were reported, and after what I've heard from Mindy," she motioned towards Taylor's caseworker, "Sam would have mentioned if an incident would have occurred. He had even mentioned, Taylor admitted, verbally, that she was scared to try."
"Regardless if an incident happened or not. The point is, he should not have taken Taylor, unsupervised, if they were still struggling with these issues. This is how we lost Taylor, in the first place. We've all been careless, and it has been Taylor, who has paid the price for it."
"Hold up," Dean interrupted, as he raised a hand. "Are you suggesting, there's a chance my brother will end up hurting Taylor?" Taylor's head bolted up at her brother's accusation.
"No, I'm not saying that, at all," she shook her head. "All I'm saying is, we are making the same mistakes, as before, and not being extra careful. Last time, Taylor got this attached to someone, who was going to adopt her, things fell apart at the last minute and lost all hope of Taylor reopening, herself, and we did not have a safety net, then, either. I, for one, do not want to see Taylor go through all that, again. If it doesn't, great. But if it does, I don't want her spirit broken, even more than it was, the first time."
The anger was filling up, inside Dean, again. "It won't happen," he snapped, which Jody tried to calm him, down.
"Even if either of you, aren't like that, there is still a possibility something could fall through, and I want to make sure there's another option for her."
Taylor had been staring over at her CASA, her chest, heaving in and out. Sam had noticed it, first.
"You okay, Buddy?"
Dean heard his brother and looked over at their sister. "Don't listen to her, Kiddo. We won't leave or hurt you, I promise," he tried to assure her.
"Emma made promises, similar, as well," Helen told them.
Yvette stepped in. "That is enough. We are not here to bring up the past. We are here to discuss Taylor's progress and future. Drop it or both of you will be asked to remove yourselves until you are willing to do so." Dean and Helen apologized to the woman, and to each other. Dean tried to wrap an arm around his sister, but, the damage was already done. Taylor flinched away from his touch, now staring at him. Her eyes were glossing over.
"Kiddo? What's wrong?"
"I was just looking out for you, sweetie pie," Helen said, sincerely.
But, Taylor, suddenly covered her ears, shutting her eyes. "Shut up!" she yelled out. "Shut up!"
Everyone tried to help relieve Taylor's stress.
"Shut up!" Taylor, suddenly, bolted from the room. Mindy tried to call out, after her, but, she was already running down the hall.
Dean and Sam made to go after her. Yvette told them, to leave her be, if Taylor wanted to be alone. Dean wasn't having it, and hurried after her. Sam wanted to, as well. Jody told him, to go, letting him know, she would stay and be their voice and ears while they were gone. He, then, hurried after his siblings.
Taylor had ran back to the waiting room, locking herself inside the restroom. Dean pounded on the door, lightly, as not to scare her.
"Kiddo, don't listen to Helen," he called through the door, as Sam caught up, too. "I promise we're not going to desert you, or hurt you." Dean stopped to listen, placing his ear to the door. "I get you got told that, before and maybe that foster mom didn't know her husband would ever do that to you. Or, maybe she did. We don't know. I do know that we love and care about you, and want to make your life, better. I already said, Sam and I aren't perfect, that we make mistakes, and we might do something to upset you, at times, like when we missed your game. It doesn't change the fact, we will do what we can to make sure there's no repeat of last time." He paused, waiting to see if something happened.
When there wasn't, Sam spoke up. He, too, had his ear to the door. "We're not asking you to open up, now. We just want you to trust us. It ain't that easy, believe us, and we know you're hurting. We have trust issues, too, and find it hard to trust people we meet. Dean and I trust you, though. We love you, Buddy, just like Dean says. Don't shut us out, not now."
Things grew quiet. The brothers could hear the echoes of faint sniffling, from inside the restroom. That was it.
"Step aside." A deep, quiet voice startled Sam and Dean, making them turn to look at who had spoken behind them. Standing behind them, was a pale, thin woman, wearing a black suit, with a white, collared shirt.
Suddenly, Dean felt an uneasy feeling, deep inside his gut, finding it hard to stomach. It was then he realized, that was a reaper standing beside them.
The reaper said, nothing more. She just nodded towards the restroom door. The brothers shot their heads, back, where she nodded. With that said, Dean turned back, fully around, and kicked the door, open, rushing inside. Taylor was sitting over in a corner, across from the toilet, where several pieces of tile had been broken. One of them were in her hand. The minute the door had burst open and Dean rushed in, Taylor scooted, further back, into the corner, terrified out of her mind. Not before he saw what she had been doing and dropped to his knees, at her side.
Forcibly, Dean grabbed her left arm, catching blood oozing from an open cut from the sharp tile she had been holding. Pulling a bandana from his jeans pocket, Dean wrapped it around her arm, tying it, tight enough, it would stop the blood from flowing out, but not tight enough, it cut off her circulation.
Sam stood, inside the open doorway, catching the reaper vanish from behind him. He couldn't believe his sister felt she had no other choice, but, to end her life. That kid was holding onto so much, and tried to deal with it on her own. His eyes started to water at the thought as the receptionist, along with a young mom and her five-year-old son , who had been waiting out there, peeked inside, curious, what the commotion was.
"Look at me, Kiddo," Dean took his sister by the shoulders. "You cannot let what she said, get to you. Life is crap and we don't know what it's gonna throw at us, next. We are trying to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself. We will do, whatever, it takes to get you, back. Just don't take your life, please! Hang in there, okay? We'll get through this. Sam and I always do, and you will, too. But, you got to hold on. Just a little bit longer. You heard Mindy's report. There is no reason the judge wouldn't say, yes, to you coming home. And, look at the effort, we've been putting in. I don't know how Matt was, but, would he go through all that we have done for you? Moving to another state? Dropping his life, to help you? Bandage a scrap? Keep you from killing yourself? Would he?"
Taylor stared up, at him, wide-eyed. She shook her head.
"Exactly! You're our baby sister and we're not gonna let anything, bad, happen to you. You have to believe that. Don't listen to those voices I know you got in your head. Listen to mine. And, Sam's. Please don't do that, again." A tear escaped his eye. Dean saw her eyes well up, with tears. She reached up to wipe away his.
Taylor started to sob, her chest, heaving, in and out, again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she managed to get out, between sobs.
Dean pulled his sister, in and held her in his arms. "Just don't do it, again, Kiddo," he assured her, forgiving Taylor. She looked up at Sam, as she held onto Dean, giving him, an apologetic look. Sam couldn't hold back, and dropped beside his siblings, wrapping them, both in an embrace.
"Don't be mad," Taylor told her brothers, sniffing from their shoulders.
"We're not mad, Buddy," Sam assured her. "You just scared us, that's all. Dean only yelled, because he got afraid."
"Like you said you do?"
"Yes, just like I said." Him and Dean held onto their sister, tightly. "We all get scared. We don't want to see you, hurting, anymore. Neither does Helen. That's why she said all those things. She wants what we all want. For you to be safe. We all hate those things got done to you, and want to make sure that doesn't happen, again. I mean, she could have said, it, nicer, her heart was in the right place, at least. We care about you, Buddy."
"I'm sorry," she continued to apologize.
"It's okay, Buddy. All is forgiven. We know why you did it. To stop the pain. But, that's not the way, I promise. You have to be strong, like Dean and I. We hate having to only see you for three-hour visits, a week. At least, we can come to your games." Sam was rubbing her back, in a soothing motion.
Taylor sniffed in. "Would…. W-would you ever blame me for bad things?"
Dean finally spoke up, again. He had been remaining quiet, holding his sister, tight. "No, never, Kiddo. Did Matt's wife end up, blaming you for what happened?" Him and Sam felt her nod her head.
"She..she...she…" They felt tears, soaking their shirts, as Taylor buried her face into their shoulders. Neither one of them made Taylor continue. They were just glad she finally opened, a tiny bit. Instead, Sam and Dean continued to hold their little sister. Maybe that was why Taylor hid under the bed and refused to come out, after that happened. And, why she had never seen or heard from the foster mother, ever again.
As the siblings headed back to the conference room, Taylor was looking down at her arm, where the bandana was tied.
"It really hurts," she said.
Dean held an arm around his sister as they walked. "Did I tie it, too tight? I can loosen it if you want."
"No, not that. The cut hurts."
"Of course it does, Kiddo. You cut yourself with a broken piece of tile. I'm just glad it missed a vein." The siblings reached the conference room, where Dean opened the door, letting the other two in, first, before following and shut the door, behind him.
"Is everything alright?" Mindy was the one to ask.
"Yeah, everything's good, now." Dean shot a hard look towards Helen. He noticed Taylor was trying to hide her arm behind her back. Not wanting to draw attention to his sister, in case they decide to put her on meds or send her, someplace, Dean kept quiet about what happened. Unfortunately, Jody caught it.
She grabbed onto his arm as Dean was sitting down. "Is that what I think it is?" whispering in his ear.
"Yes, but, please don't mention anything," he whispered, in return.
"Dean, we cannot keep that a secret. Taylor could have an anxiety disorder, that needs professional attention, and if it gets out and we never said, anything, things could get ugly."
"She just got scared. It won't happen, again. We got there, in time. Please, Jody," Dean pleaded.
"No, Dean. That is a risk you're taking, for your sister."
Dean stared at Jody, before switching over to Taylor, who sat there, next to him, holding her arm underneath the table. He turned back to Jody. "She just needed reassurance. Taylor won't do it, again. Sam and I made sure of it." Dean noticed everyone was watching them.
"Are you through, having your conversation?" Yvette asked, in firm sarcasm. "Can we continue?"
"Uh, yeah, we're good. We can…"
Jody interrupted Dean. "Dean."
"I can't squeal on my sister, Jody."
"Dean, what if you're not there, with her, the next time?"
"There won't a next time," he continued, to argue, stubbornly.
The rest of the group could now hear. Helen was the one to ask, "what happened out there?"
"Nothing," Dean lied, defensively.
"Dean," Jody hissed, firmly. "If you don't tell them, I will."
Dean stared at his friend, in shock.
"I am here to help you, Dean. To help Taylor. But, you cannot keep what happened a secret. That is a danger to Taylor," she continued to tell him.
He stared down at the table, for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Dean held up his hand, asking Taylor, to give him, her arm. Taylor shook her head, repeatedly, and tried to plead with him, with her eyes. Dean caught it out of the corner of his eye. "Come on, Kiddo. Don't make this harder than it already is. Just let me show them. You won't be in trouble, I swear it."
Taylor sucked on her lower lip, as she stared up at him.
Sam sat over in his seat, trying to hold it, together, hoping the others won't lock her up or try and put her on meds, either.
"Come on, Kiddo," Dean continued to encourage their sister. It took over a minute, before she, slowly, raised her arm and let Dean hold it up, for them to see the bandana.
Emily leaned forward, to look around Sam. Her mouth hung, open, in terror.
Helen looked as if she might cry. "Is that…? What I think it is?" she managed to ask.
Dean nodded, slowly, at the table. He forced himself, to look at Taylor. "Sorry, Kiddo."
Taylor had dropped her gaze, towards her lap, not saying a word.
"Is this the first time?" Yvette asked, once she was finished making a note about the situation, along with Mindy and Emily.
She nodded at her lap.
Dean looked up, to add, "Sam and I got there, in time. She just got scared, for a second. We made sure it won't happen again."
Mindy, Emily, Yvette, and Helen exchanged looks between each other.
"Please. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, at first," he apologized, sincerely. "I didn't want to make a fuss for Taylor."
The three at the head of the table, discussed among themselves, for a couple minutes. It was the longest two minutes of the Winchester siblings' lives. Sam looked over at his sister, who still had her head down.
He leaned in, close to her. "Hey, doing okay, Bud?"
She shook her head. "S-scared," Taylor admitted, for only Sam to hear.
"I know, Buddy. I'm scared for you, too. We'll get through this, I promise. Dean and I won't let them take you away from us."
Finally, the women faced the group, again.
"Since this is the first time, we are not going to take action," Yvette announced, letting the Winchester siblings release a breath of relief. "However, Taylor will be, closely, monitored and if it continues to happen, further action will need to be required." She looked over at Rebecca and Eric, "while using utensils, such as, forks, knives, scissors, or any sharp objects, she will need to be supervised."
Both of them nodded, in response.
Dean reached over and rubbed Taylor's back, comforting her. "I am so sorry, Kiddo," he told her.
"Now, as we were saying," Yvette continued the meeting. "While the three of you were out of the room, Helen was telling us about a family from her church, that is interested in meeting and, maybe, possibly adopting Taylor."
"How does that sound, sweetie pie?" Helen asked of the kid. "You've met them, when you came to church with me, a few times. Remember Zack and Casey? They have the two boys and teenaged daughter, Amy."
Taylor shook her head.
"They want us to come over, for a cookout," she continued to press, gently, "on Sunday."
Taylor continued to shake her head.
"We're just looking at other options, sweetie pie. I'm sure you'll be able to go with your brothers. But, don't you want a mom and dad, too?"
Taylor mumbled something, but no one could hear what she said.
"It'll be fun. I can pick you up, Sunday morning, how's that?"
She shook her head, her eyes shut, tight and turned towards Dean, wrapping her arms around him.
"If Taylor doesn't want to go, I don't think you need to force it," Sam pointed out.
"I have to agree with Sam, on this," Jody pointed out. "You say, this meeting is for Taylor, but, yet, the whole time she was out of the room, you were discussing Taylor meeting these people like she didn't have a choice and now you make the plans after she says, no? I don't understand?"
"We're just looking at options, here," Helen continued to push that answer, like a broken record.
"Okay, how about, we leave that option on the table and leave it, alone for now. Then, after the hearing, tomorrow, or hear what the judge has to say about Sam and Dean receiving custody. If he says, no to it, then we can pick the second option back up, along with continual contact with her brothers," she suggested.
"That sounds good, to me," Eric shrugged, in agreement.
"Me, too," Emily also agreed.
Helen remained silent.
"Personally, I think Taylor remained mute all these years, because no one was really listening to her," Dean stated, distantly, as he shifted his sister, on his lap. After hugging him, Taylor had ended up, climbing onto her brother, squeezing him, tight.
"It's good to have other options, on the side, but there's no need to bring them all to the front, at once," Sam added. "Stick with one, first, and keep the others, close and only turn to another when the first falls through."
Eric, Emily, Rebecca, and Mindy agreed.
"Is everyone in agreement to that idea?" Yvette asked the whole group. Everyone, except Helen raised her hand. Dean noticed, even Rebecca raised her hand. At least, she was still on their side. He guessed that made up for the ban. Dean still wasn't too thrilled about it.
Yvette moved the topic onto education, expanding on what Eric had mentioned, earlier. Overall, the school seemed to best fit Taylor's needs, education wise. Sam pointed out, when they did get custody of their sister, he would be there, to help her with her homework. Eric mentioned, that they really did not give out homework, wanting the students to do the work in class, to make sure they understood the material, since it wasn't really an usual class setting. But, flashcard practice and studying spelling words could help out, a lot.
"Yeah, I can help her with that," he nodded at Taylor's teacher.
"Great," he said, glad Taylor would have help, at home.
They also talked about how well Taylor was enjoying soccer, and asked if she wanted to do another drawing class, like she had done when Taylor was younger. Taylor nodded from her brother's shoulder, still on his lap. Dean wasn't going to make his sister move, if she didn't want to.
Yvette did end up, suggesting Taylor move back to her seat, now that things had blown over and were calmer. Taylor refused, watching the group, as they talked. If it helped ease her, Sam and Dean didn't see any harm in it. If it were any other situation, Dean would have had Taylor move back to her own chair. But, for now, he wanted to keep earlier's incident from happening again.
"How about any other sports?" Helen suggested. "Would you like to try playing another sport, Taylor?"
Taylor switched her head over to her, not saying a word.
"I played baseball when I was real little," Dean told her. "I can help ya, like Sam is helping you with soccer."
She shook her head and told him, in a whisper, she wanted to keep playing soccer.
"I know, but, what about when soccer is over? Maybe, over the summer, you can play baseball, next, and we can play catch, together."
"I have another client, taking karate and she loves it," Emily spoke up. "Would you want to try that. It teaches self determination and other good morals."
Taylor perked up when her therapist mentioned taking a karate course. She nodded, at that.
"You want to take it, then?" she asked.
Again, Taylor nodded.
Emily and Mindy made a note of signing Taylor up, for karate lessons.
"Should we wait until soccer is over, or should we do it, alongside?" Mindy asked, when she was done, writing.
"She has soccer practice, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the games, on Saturday," Rebecca reminded them. "If Taylor doesn't have homework, then we should find something for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It would be different, if she had chosen, let's say, baseball, as both have games on Saturdays, that could conflict."
"The practices could conflict with the karate lessons, though," Jody pointed out.
"True."
"I think waiting until soccer is over, would be better. That way, Taylor can rest and focus on studying her spelling words," Sam suggested, which Eric liked.
Dean asked Taylor, what she thought of Sam's suggestion. Taylor nodded, wanting to focus on soccer, for now. It was decided, when the season was over, karate would take over. But, she really wanted to start the drawing classes, as soon as possible. So, it worked out in the end, since they would need time for that, as well. Helen told the group, she'll look into it, and send the information to Mindy, via email.
The last topic they covered, was what they were going to say to the judge, the next day. There really wasn't much to discuss. Mindy had too much in her workload, and let Taylor fall from their grasp. She explained, after an incident where Taylor had lashed out at a foster sibling, the parents feared for their kids' safety and demanded Mindy come pick her up. Mindy was, clear, across town, in a meeting. When she was finally able to get over to the foster home, Taylor had been sitting on the curb, out front, with her black trash bag of belongings. She never even got around to reporting the foster parents, to Yvette.
Jody couldn't believe how unorganized this caseworker was. She was glad Mindy was learning from past mistakes, and trying harder. No one was perfect, after all. But, still.
Mindy, then dropped Taylor off at the Hills' residence and had to get to another meeting. She never even got to filing the paperwork, so Taylor just got forgotten. Since everyone else had to go through Mindy, in regards to Taylor, the whole team lost contact with the kid, and the foster parents never called, either. At least they got Taylor, back. That, rarely, happened. It wasn't an usual occurrence when a foster child fell through the cracks, but, when it did, it was rare when the kid was able to be recovered. Unless it made headlines, the kids just ended up, lost and forgotten.
"Thank you, Lord, Taylor's brothers came in when they did," Rebecca praised, relieved, as she smiled over at Sam and Dean.
"Well, I think that is about it," Mindy closed. "I want to thank you all, again, for coming. Things got a little rocky, there, a couple times. I think it turned out, alright. Does everyone agree?"
Sam and Dean looked at one another, as the rest, excluding Jody, agreed. If it weren't for Sam, Dean, and Jody, being there, they felt the meeting could have gone south and Taylor would have been pressured into doing things she doesn't want to do, and hoped the judge would see things from their perspective.
Outside, Rebecca told them they had to get home, to eat dinner, so Taylor could make it to her soccer practice, on time.
Dean offered to take them somewhere, until he was reminded, Rebecca didn't like eating out.
Taylor did not want to leave her brothers. She held onto Dean's waist, refusing to let go, as they stood in the parking lot.
"It's just for twenty-four hours, Kiddo," he tried to assure his sister. "We'll see each other, tomorrow, I promise." Taylor shook her head, against his stomach.
Sam got an idea, bending over to her level. "Bud, look at me," he told her, gently. She looked over at her other brother. "How about we do our promise seal, I showed you, last time. I added another part, to make it our own. Want to learn it?"
Taylor wiped at her eye. The black eye had, completely, healed by that point. She sniffed in, as she nodded and turned to face him. Sam held up his pinky, which Taylor grabbed with hers, holding them, in place.
"We hold, tight, and blow inside, like before, make our promise to see each other, to see each other, tomorrow," the youngest two of the siblings blew inside their fists, "and, then, let go and hold it to our heart." Sam moved his hand, against his chest, holding it over where his heart was. Taylor copied him. "Now, the promise is sealed in our hearts, and cannot be broken."
Taylor smiled through her tears and grabbed Sam around the neck, where he couldn't stand up, hugging him, tight. Sam wrapped his arms around his sister, lightly, in case she needed to break away.
"We love you, Buddy," he assured her.
She held her head on his shoulder. After a moment, Taylor, suddenly, stepped back and stared at Sam.
"What is it, Bud? Did you get scared?"
"No," she shook her head. "I wasn't scared that time, Sammy." At that, Taylor lunged for him, again, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not scared."
Sam felt so relieved to hear, his sister wasn't scared to hug him, anymore.
"You're the best big brother in the whole world," she told Sam, in his ear. That right there, brought tears to his eyes and Sam found himself, lifting Taylor up, off her feet, squeezing her, tight.
"And, you're the best little sister in the whole world, Buddy," he replied, in her ear.
Dean, who had been watching, finally stepped forward, and wrapped his younger siblings in a hug, himself. Taylor pulled her arm out and wrapped it around his head, hugging both of her brothers.
"So are you," she told Dean. Even though, he wasn't sure what that meant, Dean just smiled, up at her. That judge had better say, yes. For the brothers' sake and Taylor's.
Next chapter will be the moment of truth!