Hey guys! This prompt was sent in by thesillybus (go check out her tumblr it's amazing) and it's about Skye having to deal with her separation anxiety. I used to have really, really bad separation anxiety from my parents so this was actually inspired by some of my experiences with that.

IMPORTANT: this chapter occurs shortly after You Can Trust Me ended, maybe a few weeks, so Skye's still very traumatized and clingy. Poor lil baby.

Don't forget to head over to the poll on my profile page and vote for which one-shot you'd like to see written out next! If you have a prompt for me, please send it in either on here or on my tumblr page and I'll add it to the poll! Thanks so much for reading you guys and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx

"I thought that Skye's separation anxiety might have eased up a little bit by now." Melinda gave Jiaying a worried look and felt Phil wrap an arm around her waist as they watched Skye play on the floor with her dolls.

Jiaying nodded, "Me too. Separation anxiety is common in most young children but considering what Skye's been through, I think she might have Separation Anxiety Disorder."

She continued to watch Skye and felt her heart ache a little. She just wanted Skye to be able to play and have fun like any other child. The world had dealt her a really, really crappy hand and she didn't want that to impact Skye's future.

She leaned against Phil's side and he rubbed small circles on her hip with his thumb while he asked, "How can we help her?"

Jay gave them a sad look, "The only way to deal with this disorder is to face it head on. Skye's not going to like it."

Of course Skye wasn't going to like it. Everything they had to do to help Skye work through her trauma took her out of her comfort zone so it didn't surprise Mel that this would be no different.

She sighed, "What should we do?"

Jay turned to them, "We should practice separation. Leave Skye for short periods of time so that she can get used to being away from you. She's going to hate it and it's going to be hard on you guys but it can really help."

Mel glanced at her husband and he looked just as happy about the plan as she felt. She didn't want to make Skye uncomfortable or cause her any more anxiety but this was going to help her in the long run so they had to do it.

Jiaying gave them a sympathetic look, "I know how you guys feel but it's very important that you stay strong and firm with her. She's going to resist and you need to make sure that she knows that she will be fine. You can't give in."

Mel nodded, "Okay."

Jay gave her a small smile, "Good, now do you have someone that can watch her while you're away? Someone she's comfortable around would be best."

She glanced at Phil and thought about her options. The thing is, they hadn't left Skye with anyone since the little girl had come to live with them. Skye didn't seem to trust any other adult except for Mrs. Hill and… "She's comfortable around you."

Jiaying looked surprised for a moment and Melinda pushed forward, "It's just that she hasn't been around that many adults since we've started caring for her and besides you, the only other person I can think of is her teacher."

Jay quickly shook her head, "No, that's alright. I might actually be the best option because I can help her talk through what she's feeling when you guys are away."

Mel let out a sigh of relief and gave Jay a smile, "Thank you."

Jiaying shook her off, "We're all here to help Skye. When's a good time for you?"

Phil spoke up, "How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's fine. You guys will only have to be gone for an hour, that's long enough for the first time. Please talk to Skye and let her know what's happening. I don't want to throw this at her and surprise her tomorrow. She needs to know what's going on and why we're doing this."

She nodded, "Of course, we'll talk to her tonight. Thank you Jay."

Skye had not taken the news very well.

There had been tears and accusations and a lot of foot stomping. There had even been a small temper tantrum the night before but today Skye seemed to have moved on from her full-on resistance and was now just clinging to either her or Phil.

Wherever they went, Skye was there. Grabbing onto their legs, holding their hand, sitting on their laps, Skye was there every second of the day. It hurt Mel to see her like this, the fact that Skye was so afraid to let them out of her sight that she wouldn't even leave them to go play with her dolls was terrible.

Finally, after trying to clean the kitchen with a tiny, three foot tall shadow clinging to her side, Mel had given up. She crouched down and ran her fingers through Skye's hair, "Sweetie, Jay won't be here for another hour. Why don't you go play outside or something?"

Skye vigorously shook her head, "I don't want to."

Mel tried to give her a reassuring look, "But it's so nice out and you've been cooped up all day. It'll be fun!"

Skye didn't seem impressed or deterred, "No thank you."

Sighing, Mel sat down on the ground and pulled Skye into her lap, "I'm not going to disappear baby. If you go play, I'll be here when you come back."

She felt Skye lean heavily against her chest and let the little girl take her hands and wrap them around her waist, "I just want to stay with you."

She pressed a kiss to the top of Skye's head and stayed quiet for a little while. She rocked back and forth and hugged Skye close, "Are you worried about later?"

Skye nodded and tilted her head up so that Mel could see her face, "Why do you have to leave?"

They had already had this exact same conversation before. They had already explained that they were doing this to help Skye, that her separation anxiety wasn't something that most kids had to deal with and that they were trying to help her, but Skye was refusing to accept it. She reminded herself that even though Skye's dark brown eyes looked so sad, she couldn't give in. That wouldn't help anyone and even though this was difficult, it was for the best.

She turned Skye sideways in her lap so that it was easier to see each other's faces, "You know why baby. It'll help you in the long run."

Skye's eyes started to fill with tears and Mel felt her heart crack. When Skye spoke, her voice was wobbly, "Why can't I come with you?"

Forcing herself to stay strong, she moved a hand so that she could caress Skye's cheek, "I'm sorry Skye but you have to stay with Jay. Your dad and I will only be gone for an hour and then we'll be back together again. You'll be fine baby."

Skye shook her head and threw her little arms around Mel's neck. She held the little girl close for a few moments and then patted her back, "C'mon, you can help me put away the dishes."

Setting Skye on the ground and standing up, she let out a little sigh when Skye immediately wrapped her arms around her leg. Ushering the little girl towards the sink, she didn't say anything, just handed Skye a cup to dry.

Jay's voice was soothing but Skye was ignoring her. This was all her fault anyways. It was Jay's idea for her mom and dad to leave her and Skye wasn't happy with her therapist.

"Come on Skye, you're mom and dad need to leave."

She just wrapped her arms tighter around her dad in response.

She felt him pat her back and try to set her on the ground but she didn't let go.

Her dad's voice sounded weird when he said, "Jay, I don't-"

Her therapist cut him off, "No, you guys need to leave now." Jiaying moved so that Skye could see her, "Come on Skye, you need to say goodbye and then we can go play."

She didn't want to go play, she just wanted to stay with her mom and dad. She shook her head and buried her face in her dad's neck.

Skye didn't look up even though she heard the grown-ups murmuring to each other. She stayed hidden until she felt someone grab her out of her dad's hands and gently set her on the ground. She made a noise of protest and quickly went to grab onto her dad's leg but was stopped when her mom put her hands on her shoulders, "Skye, look at me."

Raising her eyes up to look at her mom, she was rewarded with a small smile, "Thank you. We need to leave now okay? We'll be back soon and you're going to be fine."

She shook her head, "Please don't leave mommy."

Rushing forward, she gave her mom a tight hug and felt a little better when she felt her hug her back. Maybe they would stay?

Her hopes were crushed when her mom gently pushed her back, "You be good for Jay okay? We'll see you soon. I love you to the moon and back-"

Even though Skye was sad and upset, she finished for her, "More than all the stars in the sky."

Her mom smiled at her and pressed kiss to her forehead. She stepped back too quickly for Skye to trap her in another hug but she had no trouble hugging her dad, who had moved in front of her so that he could say goodbye.

She pressed her face against his stomach and tried to hold him tight enough so that he wouldn't be able to leave, "Daddy, don't leave me. Please."

When she looked up at his face, she saw that her dad was having one of his silent conversations with her mom. When he finally looked down at her, Skye could tell that he was going to leave. She clenched his shirt between her fingers and refused to let go.

Her dad ran his hand over her head and gave her a small smile, "You be a good girl okay? I love you."

She shook her head, "If you love me then why are you leaving?"

She knew as soon as she said it that it wasn't very nice but she was so mad and sad and upset that she didn't really care. She didn't want her mom and dad to leave her but they were doing it anyways and it hurt.

Skye felt tears start to drip down her cheeks and heard Jay say, "Skye, you know your mom and dad love you very much."

Staying silent, she felt her dad pry her fingers away from his shirt and press a kiss to her palm before gently placing her hand back down by her side, "We'll be back in an hour Skye, we love you."

Feeling helpless, all she could do was watch as her parent's grabbed their keys, cast one last glance her way, and walked out the door.

She tried to run after them but was stopped when Jiaying reached out and held onto her hand. She tugged but her therapist wouldn't let go of her. Quickly shaking her hand up and down in an attempt to get Jay to let go, she made a frustrated sound and felt her tears fall faster, "Let go! Let go of me!"

Jay's grip on her hand didn't loosen and she stayed quiet. After a few minutes, Skye knew that her parent's would have left by now so she stopped resisting and starting crying harder. This was all Jay's fault!

She pointed a finger at her therapist, "W-why did you make them leave m-me? I hate you!"

She didn't even care that she had told Jay, someone she loved dearly, that she hated her. Her emotions were so jumbled, they hadn't been this mixed up in a long time, and she needed to be mad at someone and since her family was gone, Jay was all that was left.

Finally, Jiaying let go of her hand and she crumpled to the ground. Pulling her knees close to her chest, she rested her head on them and cried. She didn't know how long she stayed like that but by the time she lifted her head, her face felt hot, her head hurt, and she didn't think that she could cry anymore.

Jiaying was sitting next to her and gave her a concerned look, "Do you feel a little better?"

She shook her head. Her parents were still gone and it felt like there was a giant, gaping hole in her chest. So many things could happen while they were away, bad things, and she didn't feel safe without them here. What if they never came back?

Jay rifled through her purse and offered Skye a tissue. She stared at it for a second before taking it and using it to wipe her tears away, "Thanks."

Scooting closer to her, Jay rubbed soothing circles onto her back and Skye felt bad for what she had said earlier, "I don't hate you."

Jay nodded, "I know Skye."

They sat in silence for a little while and Skye leaned into Jay, watching the door and willing her parents to walk through it.

They didn't.

Jay tapped her shoulder, "Do you want to go talk in your room?"

Shaking her head, Skye pointed to the door, "I want to stay here."

"Okay, is it alright if we talk?"

Skye shrugged.

Jay moved so that she was sitting across from her rather than next to her, "I know you're pretty upset right now Skye."

She made a face at that. She felt more than upset right now. She felt empty.

"But we're doing this to help you."

It didn't seem like this was helping anything, it seemed like everything was ten times worse than before.

"So why don't we talk about how you're feeling right now?"

Skye wasn't sure what she was feeling, she had gotten good at identifying what her emotions were but right now, they were a giant mess.

She stayed silent and Jay studied her, "You're upset that your parents aren't here, right?"

Skye nodded.

Jay tilted her head in that way of hers, "Why do you think you're this upset? What're you afraid of Skye?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I just like it when mommy and daddy are here with me."

Jay nodded, "I know Skye, its great when they're with you, isn't it? But why is it so bad when they're not?"

Skye thought about it. It seemed like an easy question: it was bad because they were gone. Wasn't that a good enough answer? Skye knew it wasn't because Jay kept prodding her to think about it some more.

She rubbed her moon pendant between her fingers and sniffled, "I don't know, what if something bad happens when they aren't here? What if they don't come back?"

Jay gave her a tiny smile, "There it is. I know that stuff is pretty scary to think about, huh?"

Skye nodded and continued to grip her necklace tightly.

Jiaying kept talking, "We both know that your mom and dad will always come back to you, don't we?"

Skye nodded again. There was no doubt in her mind that May and Phil would always be there for her. They would always come back to her and she knew that… but there was a small part in her brain that still had doubts. She knew that they would always come back to her but what if something happened to them so that they couldn't?

Jay reached forward and held her hand, "I know you hate this, it's not easy on us either, but we're doing this to help you. In thirty minutes, you're parents are going to walk through that door and you're going to see that it's okay to be away from them."

She still couldn't see how this was helping her but she didn't really have a say in it either way so she just nodded and continued to stare at the door.

Jay moved so that she was sitting next to her again. After a little while, Jay spoke up again, "Skye, we're going to have to do this again, you know that right?"

Her parents had told her that last night but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Jay kept talking, "How about next time we go to the park or something? We can have some fun."

She shrugged and kept her eyes on the door. As time passed, she leaned against Jay's side and felt herself start to grow a little bored. Her chest still felt empty and her heart was hurting but she had kind of gotten used to it by now, "Can I have an apple?"

Her voice must have surprised Jay because the woman jumped a little before straightening up, "Of course!"

Jay sounded really excited about getting her an apple but Skye shook off her weird behavior. She stayed seated while Jay went into the kitchen and brought an apple back to her before sitting back down. She slowly at her snack and continued to watch the door.

After an eternity, she heard footsteps outside the door and quickly stood up. As soon as the door was open, she sprinted towards the first person she saw.

Her mom was a little surprised when she crashed into her legs but recovered quickly. Skye hugged her legs tight before trying to climb up her, "Mommy! You came back!"

Her mom lifted her up and hugged her close before her dad leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "We said we would be back sweetie."

She knew that but still.

She wrapped herself around her mom, "Don't leave again, please."

Her mom leaned back and she reluctantly tilted her head back so that she could see her face, "You know we have to Skye, but not for a few days."

Skye would take that as a win for now. Burying her face back into her mom's shoulder, she heard Jay say, "See Skye? You were fine while your mom and dad were away. Nothing bad happened to you or them."

She shrugged. Maybe Jay was right, maybe her fears were kind of silly and she knew that now, but that didn't mean she liked being away from her mom and dad. Even though she was still kind of mad at Jay for making this happen, she trusted her. Jay had helped her through a lot and if she thinks that this is going to help, then Skye trusted her. Even though it was terrible and she hated it.

Reaching out, she pulled her dad close so that she was sandwiched between her parents and finally felt herself start to relax a little.

What'd you guys think? I might do another chapter about this but idk. Thank you so much for reading and an extra thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave a review. If I could, I would hug all you beautiful people :) xx -Ariel