Chapter 2: Learning
Kitty looked over at the decreasing number of girls that had gathered around Pietro. 'Well, now or never…' Kitty thought to herself and walked over to his circle. "Excuse me! Pardon me! Please move!" Kitty said as she pushed a few girls out of her way so she could get to Pietro. The girls gave her snotty and insulting looks as Kitty passed them, and then stood beside Pietro.
"Pietro, we need to get going!" Kitty said. "I, like, wanna see our kid before night fall!" Kitty said. She was met with a lot of dangerous glares from the girls.
"Alright, Kitty-Cat. Hey, girls!" Pietro said to all of the ladies. "I'll see all of you later on!" He smirked and then walked towards his car with Kitty following him. She was already getting irritated with him! How would this work out?? Kitty got into Pietro's roomy car along with Pietro and he drove towards the orphanage.
"I hope you're going to be around at least a little while when we have the kid!" Kitty said to Pietro as she began to worry about her grade.
"Yeah, yeah," Pietro mumbled as he drove. He had a few dates tonight so he was in a rush… and Kitty could tell by the way he was driving. She just rolled her eyes and sighed. This already wasn't a happy marriage. Pietro and Kitty remained silent the rest of the way there… Pietro was worried, but not about the marriage thing. He was more worried about what his father would say to him and an X-Geek living together… he did NOT need to get on his father's bad side!!
When they got to the orphanage, Kitty smiled at all of the kids that were playing inside. A few of them had gathered around the entrance to see the people waiting. Kitty noted that the other 4 'couples' were here and waiting for the Matron to come. When she finally did come, she shooed the children away to go off and play with the other kids. Kitty smiled at how the kids played and nearly paid no attention to the Matron as she spoke.
"Now, I know that all of you are still in your early twenties and don't have much experience with children. But I have received your records from all of you 3 or 4 years in child care. You all have proven yourselves to be very worthy of this…. But remember, every child is different. And you must also remember that you are not their mother or father… the children I have recommended for you are foster children that have already been through a few foster homes… so they will know that you are not their real parent…."
Pietro looked at the kids and rolled his eyes. He didn't want to spend the rest of his last college semester baby-sitting a snot nosed brat! He looked over at Kitty and how she seemed so happy from watching how the kids played with each other. "What's the big deal? They're just kids!" Pietro said.
"Pietro! Don't tell me you're so cold hearted that you can watch a child playing and NOT feel anything!!" Kitty said and walked to get inline with the other couples. Pietro shrugged… he did feel something when he looked at the kids… but it wasn't like he was going to say what it was to anyone!! But he and Wanda, he knew, most likely felt the same way… he had been abandoned at their father's friends, the Maximoff family, when he was 9 and after Wanda had been taken to the asylum… not that she remembered that now!
Pietro stood in line with Kitty silently and watched the children play.
~
Rogue and Lance were the first people in line. They gave their names to the Matron, and the Matron gave them the folder filled with the background and a picture of 'their' child, then she told the two to go find their child. Rogue took the folder and looked at the picture, then at the name. "Alright…. uh… we have a boy… he's 5 an' his name is Ben." Rogue said to Lance and Lance snatched the folder from Rogue's hands. He began to walk to the other side of the room where the kids were playing. Lance was the one in school to become a foster agent. His experiences in foster home after foster home wasn't pleasant so he vowed to make sure that kids were never treated like he was. But then again, Rogue was also going to be a foster agent much like the Matron here. She, who always knew the kind woman Irene Adler had adopted her, wanted kids to have a loving family that she had wanted…
"Just don't touch him, Rogue." Lance said coldly as he looked for the boy who matched the description of the picture.
"Hey, you jerk! He's mine to, yanno! Ah know what ta do!" Rogue said angrily as she ran over to where Lance was and glared at him.
"That's a nice impression you're making on the kids already, darling." Lance said as he looked back at the kids that were staring at Rogue. "I think that's him over there." Lance said as he shoved the folder at Rogue then walked over to where the kids playing with the blocks were. He bent down to the little boy's level and looked at him with a kind and gentle expression. "Hey, kid. What are you doing?" Lance asked gently. The little boy looked up at Lance with a proud smile.
"I'm building a castle!" he said and Lance smiled. The boy beamed and put out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Ben!"
"I'm Lance… I'm going to be taking you home with me to our own castle… how does that sound?" Lance asked with a smile and shook his head.
"Yoo mean… you're gonna be my daddy??" Ben asked with a huge smile. He jumped up and stood up straight. Lance nodded. "I got a daddy!!" Ben said and hugged Lance by putting his arms around his neck. Lance smiled and picked Ben up. He began to walk back towards Rogue.
Rogue blinked as if trying to figure out if what she just saw was real or not. She was trying to grasp the concept that Lance was actually acting like a good father! She was absolutely stunned! Lance, with Ben in his arms, stopped in front of Rogue and glared at her.
"What now?!" Lance growled at Rogue, who quickly snapped out of her trance.
"Nuthin'!" Rogue hissed, then smiled when she looked at Ben. "Hi there, Ben. I'm gonna be yer foster-momma.." Rogue said with a smile and Ben smiled back at her.
"I got a mommy and a daddy!!"
~
"Alright, Wanda Maximoff and Todd Tolensky… here you go!" The matron said and handed Todd the folder. Wanda and Todd walked to where the kids were together and looked at the picture along with some of the information.
"His name is Sean an' is 5 years old. Look at 'em!! Wut happened ta him??" Todd asked as he looked at the picture of Sean. Sean had a long and horrible scar that took over the right side of his face. He also had an eye patch over his right eye. Todd stared at the picture, scared about how to approach the kid, but Wanda looked at the picture with a very sympathetic look.
"Where is he? I don't see him with the other kids…" Wanda said as she looked around the room. Then she spotted Sean at the corner of the room, alone. He wasn't playing with any toys, but he was sitting on the floor with his head facing towards the ground. Wanda looked back at Todd and motioned for him to follow her as she walked over to him. Wanda looked down at the kid and kneeled down.
"Hello. I'm Wanda, this is Todd." Wanda said as she tried to look into his face, but the boy's long brown hair kept it hidden. Todd kneeled down also.
"Yo, Sean. Ya wanna come home with us?" Todd asked with a smile.
"No. Go away." Sean said and turned his back on them. Wanda and Todd looked at each other with a strange look as if asking each other: 'What do we do now?!'
"Sean, what's wrong?" Wanda asked. She knew that she HAD to get through to this child today if they were going to be spending the next four months together. This was a good test for her to try out some of the things she had learned in psychology… though that was not her profession that she had chosen; Wanda wanted to become a doctor.
"…go away. I just want to be left alone." Sean said sadly.
"Ey, I know what dat feels like, yo…butcha know, we're here ta live wit us! Do ya really wanna be left here?" Todd asked, HE was the one studying to become a child psychologist. Wanda looked at him. 'How does he know what it feels like..?' Wanda wondered, but she had to focus on Sean right now.
"We're here to help, Sean." Wanda said.
"…." Sean didn't say anything as he stood up and turned to face Wanda and Todd. His dark hair completely covered the right side of his face and eye as Sean kept his eyes down cast.
"That's a little better, buddy." Todd said and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you Wanda, Todd… but you're not my parents." Sean said blankly.
"We're not trying to replace them. We just want to take care of you." Wanda said and her and Todd lead Sean to get his things.
~
Scott and Jean were next. They got the folder and looked in it quietly. They had a 4-year-old girl named Rachel who had blonde hair, blue eyes and a bright smile. "She's cute.." Jean said with a smile and Scott smiled, too. He wanted to say: "She looks as cute as you, Jean." But he knew he couldn't… Jean was still dating Duncan and he had to respect that.
"Let's go find her." Scott said as he and Jean walked to the group of girls playing dolls. Jean spotted the blonde girl and smiled down at her.
"Hello, Rachel." Jean said as she looked down at the girl, who looked back up at Jean. Immediately, her eyes lit up and she jumped up, forgetting about her dolls.
"You're here to bring me home with you?! YAY! I have a momma!" Rachel said and hugged Jean's leg. Jean smiled; she loved this feeling of making a child happy. "I'm coming home with you, right momma?" Rachel asked.
"Umm…. Uh…." Jean said, she had wanted to introduce herself as more of a big sister figure… "I'm more like you're big sister, ok?" Jean said at the still smiling girl. "You ARE coming home with us for a little while… with me and Scott, your… what's wrong?" Jean asked as she saw how Rachel was looking at Scott. Rachel looked like she was afraid of Scott!
"Hi, Rachel, I'm Scott. You can think of me as your--" Scott said as he looked down at Rachel, who was holding onto Jean's leg tighter.
"I don't want a daddy!" Rachel said and looked away from Scott. Scott and Jean looked at each other.
"Then you can call him Scott until you two get to know each other, ok?" Jean asked the little girl, and she nodded. Scott sighed and looked around at the other couples… they seemed to be doing ok.. especially Alvers. Scott glared at Lance; they never got along… and Lance was out doing Scott! Jean, seeing how Scott was reacting to all this, sighed and shook her head. This may be a problem…
~
Kurt and Amanda received their folder with very wide smiles. Even though Kurt was nervous about having a kid around him, he was excited at the same time! Amanda was also very excited but not only about getting a kid to take care of. Sure, she always loved kids, but staying with Kurt is her dream come true!
"Ve 'ave a girl!" Kurt said happily. "'ear that honey? Ve 'ave a 5 year old girl!" Kurt laughed along with Amanda.
"What's her name?" Amanda asked and looked at the picture of the redheaded girl. She had freckles on her cheeks and dark green eyes.
"Her name iz Ginger." Kurt said as he looked around. "I don't zee her anyvere…" Kurt said as he scanned the room.
"Over there!" Amanda said and pointed at the girl who was running around the room with her arm outstretched pretending to be an airplane. Amanda giggled. "She sure seems 'Ginger-y'!" Amanda said and walked towards the girl with Kurt at her side.
"'ello, Ginger. I'm going to be your papa… and zis iz your new mama. We're going to be playing houze for a little while, ok?" Kurt said as the girl pretended to fly around the two. She stopped right in between them and smiled. Her green eyes lit up light a candle and hugged Amanda. She jumped up and down as she held her new mother's hands. She tried to grab Kurt's hand, but he backed away. Ginger didn't mind, she just grabbed Amanda's other hand and danced around.
"I got a family! I got a family!" Ginger said happily. But Amanda gave Kurt a disapproving look. She would have to talk about that later on tonight… but right now, Amanda danced with Ginger and jumped up and down in the little girl's excitement.
~
"Ok. Now which little snot-nosed brat is ours, huh??" Pietro asked impatiently as he and Kitty stood in the center of the room. Kitty was looking through the folder.
"Why don't you go sit down or something?! I'll tell you when I found her!" Kitty said. He was really starting to get on her nerves. She read the information about the little girl carefully and studied the picture before looking around.
Pietro sat down on a couch on the kid's side of the room. He looked around at the kids with a look of disgust. They not only smelled, but they were dirty! Hmph. He was not going to enjoy being a father!! Pietro leaned back on the couch and unbeknownst to him, there was a little girl sitting on the floor to his right side. She was looking up at him with a little smile, then, when he looked down at her, she blushed and looked back down at her little doll.
Something about this little girl caught Pietro's attention. She had white skin like an angel and long blonde hair that nearly looked white. She seemed to glow with goodness and a sweet aura as she brushed her doll's hair gently. She looked so small and weak… so vulnerable and helpless... but so full of hope and happiness. Pietro couldn't tear his eyes away from this little girl. He leaned forward on the couch so that he was closer to her.
"Hiya." Pietro said. The little girl jumped and looked back at Pietro.
"Hi." She said. She had a little voice that was very timid and shy.
"I'm Pietro." He said and put out his hand to the little girl. She hesitated as she shook his hand slowly and gently. Pietro surprised himself at how slow he was moving around the little girl. He didn't want to scare her for she looked like she would get up and run to the other side of the room in any second from now.
"I-I'm Hayli." She said and her dull blue eyes shone with a hope and a beauty that made Pietro want to protect.
"Nice to meetcha, Hayli. What do you got there?" Pietro asked and Hayli looked down at her doll.
"This is Pamitamia. She's my best friend!" Hayli said and hugged the old Barbe doll. Pietro smiled at the innocent little girl.
"Nice to meet you, Pamitamia!" Pietro said and shook the doll's hand. Hayli laughed.
"You're silly!" Hayli said and giggled. She suddenly got quiet, then held her doll close to her chest. Hayli looked down at the ground and looked like she was going to cry. "Are you going to take me home with you? Like the other children?" She asked quietly.
Those words struck Pietro like a spear of ice right through his heart. He gulped and looked around for Kitty. 'Kitty! I need a little help, here!! Come on! Where are you?!' Pietro thought as he looked around the room for Kitty… then he found her. Kitty was standing to the left of him so he hadn't been able to see her when he was talking to Hayli. Kitty was smiling and nodded her head.. Pietro's heart leapt for joy as he looked down at Hayli and smiled.
"Yes I am, Hayli. And this here is Kitty. She's going to be your mom for awhile and we're going to live together just like a family!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Ok, so the first chapter really sucked. How do you like this one, eh??
--AJ
Kitty looked over at the decreasing number of girls that had gathered around Pietro. 'Well, now or never…' Kitty thought to herself and walked over to his circle. "Excuse me! Pardon me! Please move!" Kitty said as she pushed a few girls out of her way so she could get to Pietro. The girls gave her snotty and insulting looks as Kitty passed them, and then stood beside Pietro.
"Pietro, we need to get going!" Kitty said. "I, like, wanna see our kid before night fall!" Kitty said. She was met with a lot of dangerous glares from the girls.
"Alright, Kitty-Cat. Hey, girls!" Pietro said to all of the ladies. "I'll see all of you later on!" He smirked and then walked towards his car with Kitty following him. She was already getting irritated with him! How would this work out?? Kitty got into Pietro's roomy car along with Pietro and he drove towards the orphanage.
"I hope you're going to be around at least a little while when we have the kid!" Kitty said to Pietro as she began to worry about her grade.
"Yeah, yeah," Pietro mumbled as he drove. He had a few dates tonight so he was in a rush… and Kitty could tell by the way he was driving. She just rolled her eyes and sighed. This already wasn't a happy marriage. Pietro and Kitty remained silent the rest of the way there… Pietro was worried, but not about the marriage thing. He was more worried about what his father would say to him and an X-Geek living together… he did NOT need to get on his father's bad side!!
When they got to the orphanage, Kitty smiled at all of the kids that were playing inside. A few of them had gathered around the entrance to see the people waiting. Kitty noted that the other 4 'couples' were here and waiting for the Matron to come. When she finally did come, she shooed the children away to go off and play with the other kids. Kitty smiled at how the kids played and nearly paid no attention to the Matron as she spoke.
"Now, I know that all of you are still in your early twenties and don't have much experience with children. But I have received your records from all of you 3 or 4 years in child care. You all have proven yourselves to be very worthy of this…. But remember, every child is different. And you must also remember that you are not their mother or father… the children I have recommended for you are foster children that have already been through a few foster homes… so they will know that you are not their real parent…."
Pietro looked at the kids and rolled his eyes. He didn't want to spend the rest of his last college semester baby-sitting a snot nosed brat! He looked over at Kitty and how she seemed so happy from watching how the kids played with each other. "What's the big deal? They're just kids!" Pietro said.
"Pietro! Don't tell me you're so cold hearted that you can watch a child playing and NOT feel anything!!" Kitty said and walked to get inline with the other couples. Pietro shrugged… he did feel something when he looked at the kids… but it wasn't like he was going to say what it was to anyone!! But he and Wanda, he knew, most likely felt the same way… he had been abandoned at their father's friends, the Maximoff family, when he was 9 and after Wanda had been taken to the asylum… not that she remembered that now!
Pietro stood in line with Kitty silently and watched the children play.
~
Rogue and Lance were the first people in line. They gave their names to the Matron, and the Matron gave them the folder filled with the background and a picture of 'their' child, then she told the two to go find their child. Rogue took the folder and looked at the picture, then at the name. "Alright…. uh… we have a boy… he's 5 an' his name is Ben." Rogue said to Lance and Lance snatched the folder from Rogue's hands. He began to walk to the other side of the room where the kids were playing. Lance was the one in school to become a foster agent. His experiences in foster home after foster home wasn't pleasant so he vowed to make sure that kids were never treated like he was. But then again, Rogue was also going to be a foster agent much like the Matron here. She, who always knew the kind woman Irene Adler had adopted her, wanted kids to have a loving family that she had wanted…
"Just don't touch him, Rogue." Lance said coldly as he looked for the boy who matched the description of the picture.
"Hey, you jerk! He's mine to, yanno! Ah know what ta do!" Rogue said angrily as she ran over to where Lance was and glared at him.
"That's a nice impression you're making on the kids already, darling." Lance said as he looked back at the kids that were staring at Rogue. "I think that's him over there." Lance said as he shoved the folder at Rogue then walked over to where the kids playing with the blocks were. He bent down to the little boy's level and looked at him with a kind and gentle expression. "Hey, kid. What are you doing?" Lance asked gently. The little boy looked up at Lance with a proud smile.
"I'm building a castle!" he said and Lance smiled. The boy beamed and put out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Ben!"
"I'm Lance… I'm going to be taking you home with me to our own castle… how does that sound?" Lance asked with a smile and shook his head.
"Yoo mean… you're gonna be my daddy??" Ben asked with a huge smile. He jumped up and stood up straight. Lance nodded. "I got a daddy!!" Ben said and hugged Lance by putting his arms around his neck. Lance smiled and picked Ben up. He began to walk back towards Rogue.
Rogue blinked as if trying to figure out if what she just saw was real or not. She was trying to grasp the concept that Lance was actually acting like a good father! She was absolutely stunned! Lance, with Ben in his arms, stopped in front of Rogue and glared at her.
"What now?!" Lance growled at Rogue, who quickly snapped out of her trance.
"Nuthin'!" Rogue hissed, then smiled when she looked at Ben. "Hi there, Ben. I'm gonna be yer foster-momma.." Rogue said with a smile and Ben smiled back at her.
"I got a mommy and a daddy!!"
~
"Alright, Wanda Maximoff and Todd Tolensky… here you go!" The matron said and handed Todd the folder. Wanda and Todd walked to where the kids were together and looked at the picture along with some of the information.
"His name is Sean an' is 5 years old. Look at 'em!! Wut happened ta him??" Todd asked as he looked at the picture of Sean. Sean had a long and horrible scar that took over the right side of his face. He also had an eye patch over his right eye. Todd stared at the picture, scared about how to approach the kid, but Wanda looked at the picture with a very sympathetic look.
"Where is he? I don't see him with the other kids…" Wanda said as she looked around the room. Then she spotted Sean at the corner of the room, alone. He wasn't playing with any toys, but he was sitting on the floor with his head facing towards the ground. Wanda looked back at Todd and motioned for him to follow her as she walked over to him. Wanda looked down at the kid and kneeled down.
"Hello. I'm Wanda, this is Todd." Wanda said as she tried to look into his face, but the boy's long brown hair kept it hidden. Todd kneeled down also.
"Yo, Sean. Ya wanna come home with us?" Todd asked with a smile.
"No. Go away." Sean said and turned his back on them. Wanda and Todd looked at each other with a strange look as if asking each other: 'What do we do now?!'
"Sean, what's wrong?" Wanda asked. She knew that she HAD to get through to this child today if they were going to be spending the next four months together. This was a good test for her to try out some of the things she had learned in psychology… though that was not her profession that she had chosen; Wanda wanted to become a doctor.
"…go away. I just want to be left alone." Sean said sadly.
"Ey, I know what dat feels like, yo…butcha know, we're here ta live wit us! Do ya really wanna be left here?" Todd asked, HE was the one studying to become a child psychologist. Wanda looked at him. 'How does he know what it feels like..?' Wanda wondered, but she had to focus on Sean right now.
"We're here to help, Sean." Wanda said.
"…." Sean didn't say anything as he stood up and turned to face Wanda and Todd. His dark hair completely covered the right side of his face and eye as Sean kept his eyes down cast.
"That's a little better, buddy." Todd said and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you Wanda, Todd… but you're not my parents." Sean said blankly.
"We're not trying to replace them. We just want to take care of you." Wanda said and her and Todd lead Sean to get his things.
~
Scott and Jean were next. They got the folder and looked in it quietly. They had a 4-year-old girl named Rachel who had blonde hair, blue eyes and a bright smile. "She's cute.." Jean said with a smile and Scott smiled, too. He wanted to say: "She looks as cute as you, Jean." But he knew he couldn't… Jean was still dating Duncan and he had to respect that.
"Let's go find her." Scott said as he and Jean walked to the group of girls playing dolls. Jean spotted the blonde girl and smiled down at her.
"Hello, Rachel." Jean said as she looked down at the girl, who looked back up at Jean. Immediately, her eyes lit up and she jumped up, forgetting about her dolls.
"You're here to bring me home with you?! YAY! I have a momma!" Rachel said and hugged Jean's leg. Jean smiled; she loved this feeling of making a child happy. "I'm coming home with you, right momma?" Rachel asked.
"Umm…. Uh…." Jean said, she had wanted to introduce herself as more of a big sister figure… "I'm more like you're big sister, ok?" Jean said at the still smiling girl. "You ARE coming home with us for a little while… with me and Scott, your… what's wrong?" Jean asked as she saw how Rachel was looking at Scott. Rachel looked like she was afraid of Scott!
"Hi, Rachel, I'm Scott. You can think of me as your--" Scott said as he looked down at Rachel, who was holding onto Jean's leg tighter.
"I don't want a daddy!" Rachel said and looked away from Scott. Scott and Jean looked at each other.
"Then you can call him Scott until you two get to know each other, ok?" Jean asked the little girl, and she nodded. Scott sighed and looked around at the other couples… they seemed to be doing ok.. especially Alvers. Scott glared at Lance; they never got along… and Lance was out doing Scott! Jean, seeing how Scott was reacting to all this, sighed and shook her head. This may be a problem…
~
Kurt and Amanda received their folder with very wide smiles. Even though Kurt was nervous about having a kid around him, he was excited at the same time! Amanda was also very excited but not only about getting a kid to take care of. Sure, she always loved kids, but staying with Kurt is her dream come true!
"Ve 'ave a girl!" Kurt said happily. "'ear that honey? Ve 'ave a 5 year old girl!" Kurt laughed along with Amanda.
"What's her name?" Amanda asked and looked at the picture of the redheaded girl. She had freckles on her cheeks and dark green eyes.
"Her name iz Ginger." Kurt said as he looked around. "I don't zee her anyvere…" Kurt said as he scanned the room.
"Over there!" Amanda said and pointed at the girl who was running around the room with her arm outstretched pretending to be an airplane. Amanda giggled. "She sure seems 'Ginger-y'!" Amanda said and walked towards the girl with Kurt at her side.
"'ello, Ginger. I'm going to be your papa… and zis iz your new mama. We're going to be playing houze for a little while, ok?" Kurt said as the girl pretended to fly around the two. She stopped right in between them and smiled. Her green eyes lit up light a candle and hugged Amanda. She jumped up and down as she held her new mother's hands. She tried to grab Kurt's hand, but he backed away. Ginger didn't mind, she just grabbed Amanda's other hand and danced around.
"I got a family! I got a family!" Ginger said happily. But Amanda gave Kurt a disapproving look. She would have to talk about that later on tonight… but right now, Amanda danced with Ginger and jumped up and down in the little girl's excitement.
~
"Ok. Now which little snot-nosed brat is ours, huh??" Pietro asked impatiently as he and Kitty stood in the center of the room. Kitty was looking through the folder.
"Why don't you go sit down or something?! I'll tell you when I found her!" Kitty said. He was really starting to get on her nerves. She read the information about the little girl carefully and studied the picture before looking around.
Pietro sat down on a couch on the kid's side of the room. He looked around at the kids with a look of disgust. They not only smelled, but they were dirty! Hmph. He was not going to enjoy being a father!! Pietro leaned back on the couch and unbeknownst to him, there was a little girl sitting on the floor to his right side. She was looking up at him with a little smile, then, when he looked down at her, she blushed and looked back down at her little doll.
Something about this little girl caught Pietro's attention. She had white skin like an angel and long blonde hair that nearly looked white. She seemed to glow with goodness and a sweet aura as she brushed her doll's hair gently. She looked so small and weak… so vulnerable and helpless... but so full of hope and happiness. Pietro couldn't tear his eyes away from this little girl. He leaned forward on the couch so that he was closer to her.
"Hiya." Pietro said. The little girl jumped and looked back at Pietro.
"Hi." She said. She had a little voice that was very timid and shy.
"I'm Pietro." He said and put out his hand to the little girl. She hesitated as she shook his hand slowly and gently. Pietro surprised himself at how slow he was moving around the little girl. He didn't want to scare her for she looked like she would get up and run to the other side of the room in any second from now.
"I-I'm Hayli." She said and her dull blue eyes shone with a hope and a beauty that made Pietro want to protect.
"Nice to meetcha, Hayli. What do you got there?" Pietro asked and Hayli looked down at her doll.
"This is Pamitamia. She's my best friend!" Hayli said and hugged the old Barbe doll. Pietro smiled at the innocent little girl.
"Nice to meet you, Pamitamia!" Pietro said and shook the doll's hand. Hayli laughed.
"You're silly!" Hayli said and giggled. She suddenly got quiet, then held her doll close to her chest. Hayli looked down at the ground and looked like she was going to cry. "Are you going to take me home with you? Like the other children?" She asked quietly.
Those words struck Pietro like a spear of ice right through his heart. He gulped and looked around for Kitty. 'Kitty! I need a little help, here!! Come on! Where are you?!' Pietro thought as he looked around the room for Kitty… then he found her. Kitty was standing to the left of him so he hadn't been able to see her when he was talking to Hayli. Kitty was smiling and nodded her head.. Pietro's heart leapt for joy as he looked down at Hayli and smiled.
"Yes I am, Hayli. And this here is Kitty. She's going to be your mom for awhile and we're going to live together just like a family!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Ok, so the first chapter really sucked. How do you like this one, eh??
--AJ
