Maria was anxious all of the following week. She just wanted to know what was going on. She was at work on Thursday when her phone went off. She had been keeping her phone on her as she was so nervous. She noticed it was Rachel.
"I'm really sorry I need to take this" Maria said. Although it was her last client, she still didn't want to risk missing Rachel's call.
"Hello, I just got a call and you have been granted full custody of Grace. Would you be able to come to the office this afternoon at 2:30?" Rachel asked and Maria nodded.
"I'm so excited. Thank you. I'll be there" Maria said before hanging up on the call.
"Someone seems happy" Audrey said as Maria came back to her client.
"Just got custody of Grace" Maria said, and Audrey smiled.
"That's fantastic and just before your holiday too" Audrey said, and Maria smiled.
"We did say that to the reviewing officer" Maria said as she quickly got to work on her client so that she would be finished in plenty of time to get to the office. She would also need someone to look after Liam.
Maria knew that her options were limited so headed to the factory to see if someone would be able to look after Liam. Luckily, she explained to Michelle that it was an important meeting and she would be as quickly as she could.
Maria then collected Liam from the child minders and dropped him off with Michelle. She was excited about the meeting but also slightly nervous. She just wanted to tell Grace.
Maria arrived at the office and Rachel was quick to let her in.
"I'm so happy that you have Grace now. I didn't have any concerns, but I was just worried something would go wrong for the poor girl" Rachel explained, and Maria nodded.
"I can't wait to have my baby girl home with me" Maria said, and Rachel nodded.
They quickly got settled and went through some paperwork. There was then a knock at the door and Grace walked in.
"Hello, your mum has some news to tell you" Rachel said turning to Maria.
"I got full custody of you" Maria said, and Grace's face broke out into a smile and she ran into her mother's arms.
"So I know that you are aware we have a gradual settlement plan and we'd like to do it with you" Rachel said, and Grace agreed. She enjoyed being brought into the planning as it was about her after all.
"So this is a rough plan and I want to see what you thing" Rachel explained and Grace agreed.
"You can do your normal Thursday night as today is not the start of the plan. After today you do not have to stick to the 8 o'clock return but instead the plan we create. The plan will not go any faster than this, but it will go slower if required. If either of you have any issues you only need to call me. It is not embarrassing or shows that you can't manage. We just want both of you to be okay. If it takes longer, then it takes longer that is fine" Rachel explained and both Grace and Maria agreed.
They worked on the plan together and it ended up that Grace would go to Maria's after school tomorrow. Then on Sunday, Grace would arrive at lunchtime and stay overnight. She would then visit after school on Tuesday and return for bed at Tabitha House. Another night stay on the Thursday and then returning to the care home Friday night. Maria would then pick her up on Saturday and she would fully move in. They were both excited about the plan.
"How do you feel about staying over night with your mum?" Rachel asked as Grace often had issues at night.
"I'm fine" Grace said not wanting to speak about it.
"It's important that you tell your mum of any worries that you have and make her aware of any routines you have" Rachel explained, and Grace nodded. They spoke for a bit longer before leaving. Rachel slyly told Maria she would phone her and go over Grace's routine with her as she knew that Grace would just huff if they did it now.
"We just need to nip to the factory to collect Liam" Maria explained once they were in the car.
"Who's looking after him?" Grace asked.
"Michelle is" Maria said. "You can meet Michelle and Carla. They are my sisters-in-law"
Grace nodded though she was slightly nervous about meeting new people. They arrived at the factory and headed to the office. All the machinists stared at Grace clearly wondering who she was.
"Who's this?" Carla asked as soon as Maria entered the factory.
"This is my daughter, Grace" Maria explained "I have just received custody of her so you will be seeing a lot more of her"
Carla nodded and continued with her work, but Michelle walked over.
"Hello, sweetheart. It is lovely to meet you" Michelle said and instantly Grace relaxed. They spoke for a while before heading back to Maria's. Maria then made them dinner and they put Liam to bed.
"At least this is the last time that you'll need to leave to get home for 8" Maria said and Grace nodded.
"Can I start moving my things in now?" Grace asked.
"Of course, you can but remember that you are coming here straight from school, so you'd be best not to bring things tomorrow" Maria said, and Grace nodded.
"But how about on Sunday, I'll come and pick you up and we can move some of your things in?" Maria suggested and a massive smile came across Grace's face.
Sunday lunchtime
Grace's visit had gone well on Friday, Kirk had supervised Liam so that Maria could take Grace home at 9. She stayed with the girl until she went to bed before leaving. It was now Sunday and Maria had just arrived at Tabitha house to collect Grace for her first overnight visit. Rachel had warned her that Grace struggled at night and gave her some tips to handle it.
Walking into the children's care home, she noticed three boxes and two suitcases.
"Is this all yours?" Maria asked, and Grace nodded.
"I've just left a couple of school uniforms and two pairs of pyjamas" Grace said, and Maria smiled.
"Let's get it in the car then" Maria said and that was the moment that it all started to feel real to her. She could not wait for her baby girl to move in.
They had an enjoyable day as they unpacked Grace's boxes. Liam was even willing to join in. Grace spoke to her mother explaining some of her toys. There was a box which Maria went to open.
"No, you can't look in that" Grace shouted.
"Okay sorry" Maria said as she passed it to Grace. Grace quickly put it under her bed and looked back at her mother.
"It's special, please don't look in it" She begged, and Maria nodded. She understood the importance of privacy and was not going to break her daughter's trust. She also planned to take the girl shopping once she had moved in with her. Grace had a good amount of clothes, but Maria still wanted to add to it.
They then went to the park, Grace played with Liam while Maria supervised and joined in at points. On the way home, they stopped into the shop to get a sweet each. The Cabin was not open on a Sunday or they would have gone there. Luckily they were the only people there and no one said anything. Maria wanted to plan as many introductions as she could so that Grace was not overwhelmed.
By the time they arrived home, it was time for Maria to make a start on dinner. She left her two children watching TV as she made dinner. She enjoyed having both children and always tried to eat with them at the table while she didn't always do this when it was just her and Liam. Once ready, she called the children through and they both came running.
They ate happily and chatted about what they had watched on the TV. After eating, Maria agreed that they could watched TV for another half an hour before Liam needed to go to bed. Once the time was up, Grace helped her mother bath Liam and get him ready for bed. She even read the story this time which Liam loved and helped with Grace's confidence when reading.
Once Liam was asleep, they went back into the living room.
"Why don't you go and put your pyjamas on and join me. We can watch a film" Maria suggested and Grace agreed. They returned about 15 minutes later and Grace smiled when she noticed her mother was also in her pyjamas.
They snuggled on the sofa and watched a film. Once it was finished, Maria saw it was after 10 and the girl looked tired.
"Come on, bedtime for you" Maria said. "Go to the bathroom and I'll be through in 15 minutes"
Grace agreed and did as her mother asked. Maria kept her word and walked into Grace's room.
"You look really tired so straight to sleep sweetie" Maria said as she bent down and kissed her head.
"I don't like the dark" Grace admitted nervously.
"I know sweetie, look I've left the curtains only open in the middle like you like and then the door is slightly open. I'll keep the hall light on all night" Maria reassured the girl and Grace relaxed slightly.
"Try and get some sleep. I'm just across the living room if you need me" Maria said, causing Grace to nod again.
Maria then left the room, leaving the door open like she said she would. She went into her room to watch TV without disrupting the children but then checked on them before she went to her bed at 11 o'clock.
Waking over to the two bedrooms, she could hear crying. She checked Liam first knowing it was not his cries and then moved to Grace. She knew that Grace didn't like someone going into her room in the night but Maria couldn't leave her crying. She made sure that she left the door behind her wide open and then went over to the girl laying in the bed.
"Come on, let's go into the living room" Maria encouraged and Grace agreed. She allowed her mother to guide her to the living rom and they sat down on the sofa.
"That's better" Maria said once the girl had calmed down in her mother's arms.
"What's the matter?" Maria asked softly.
"I was scared" Grace exclaimed.
"Oh baby, is there anything I can do to make you not scared?" Maria asked.
"Stay with me" Grace asked and Maria nodded.
"We best go back to your bed then" Maria said and they headed back to Grace's bedroom. Maria allowed Grace to get comfortable first and then she climbed into the bed. She stayed above the covers as she was planning to go back to her own bed once Grace was asleep. They couldn't get in the habit of Grace sleeping with Maria every night. Maria gently stroked the girl's hair until she drifted off into a gently sleep.
The following morning went relatively well. The only slight issue was that Grace would not have a shower when Maria asked her too. Maria decided to pick her battles and would leave the girl for today. She was not aware when the girl had last showered. It would be a lot easier when the girl was staying for consecutive nights for Maria to monitor this.
Maria drove Grace to school as it was her day off. She took Liam with her and Liam enjoyed seeing where his big sister went to school. Maria just arrived home when she noticed her phone buzzing with a call from Rachel asking how last night had gone. Maria explained how it had gone well and there had only been a slight issue at night.
"She did full on refuse to have a shower this morning though" Maria explained.
"I was expecting that. Grace has a panic about showering we assume that perhaps some of the abuse happened in the shower or bathroom. It's something you might want to explore with Grace. Try and get her to shower one night and make sure she knows that there is a chair she can block the door with. Do this at a quiet point where no one will try to disturb her" Rachel explained, and Maria nodded. They spoke for a bit longer before hanging up. Maria knew what she needed to do the following night when Grace stayed the night.
Hope this is okay :)
