Adjusting


"That's him?" Theo asked, walking into the control room for one of the interview rooms in the station, finding Cassie standing staring at the screen.

"Yeah." Cassie said, arms folded.

"He handed himself in?" Theo asked, making sure he got the correct story and not the gossip versions going around the police station.

"Yeah, handed himself in but couldn't stop his car to get out and help when he hit her." Cassie shook her head, "How can you hit someone with your car and not stop? Especially a fucking kid." Cassie said, looking on at the man who had knocked her niece down five days ago, watching the interview take place.

"Surely your instinct would tell you to get out and help." Theo agreed.

"Unless you're just a shitty person." Cassie said, "Maybe he was waiting to find out how serious her injuries were."

"That's even shittier." Theo said as Cassie nodded, turning the audio off from the interview so they couldn't hear it anymore.

"Thea still doesn't want us visiting." She turned to him, "Only my mom and dad."

"I think they're just trying to make sure Sofia is comfortable. It's gotta be a lot for her right now. So many voices coming in and out of the room… it's gonna be overwhelming for her." Theo understood.

"Yeah, I know." Cassie sighed, "I just wanna squeeze her tight." She shook her head.

"You heard about when she could be getting home?" Theo asked her.

"No. I don't imagine it'll be very soon. Thea said in her last text that she was still really sleepy. And then I think they gotta talk with a liaison nurse about how they move forward with her blindness. There's gonna be a lot to learn." Cassie nodded.

"And we'll all learn whatever we need to." Theo said as Cassie nodded.

"It's just so upsetting." Cassie shook her head, "And unfair."

"I know." Theo said, wrapping his arm around her as she hugged into him tightly.


"She's always sleeping." James said, sitting in Sofia's room with Thea whilst Sofia slept.

"She's been through a lot." Thea nodded.

"When will she come home?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." Thea told him honestly.

"You're a doctor. You should know." James nodded.

"She's had a big surgery. It's important she's here so the nurses can look after her, and give her the aftercare she needs." Thea nodded, turning to him as he sat staring at Sofia.

He'd come to visit every day, even when Thea and Dominic told him it was ok if he didn't want to. Sofia was always glad to hear his voice and know he was there in the room. She didn't neglect the fact he was still a young boy, and that this had to be incredibly stressful for him just as much as it was for the rest of them.

"How has school been?" Thea asked with a small smile as he turned to her, "I'm sorry me and your dad have been practically living here."

"No you guys should be here with her." James nodded as Thea smiled, "School is fine."

"How is Sam?" Thea asked.

"Well she wants to know where Sofia is." James said, "I'm running out of things to say to her. We stayed with Aunt Jude last night and she had one of her stupid tantrums." He shook his head.

"Aunt Jude? Or Sam?" Thea asked as James smiled a little.

"Sam, obviously." James nodded.

"She's just a baby. She's gonna feel that something isn't right." Thea said.

"So maybe we can just tell her." James shrugged as Thea sighed.

"Well… we will have to eventually." Thea nodded.

"How is she gonna go to school?" James asked. Every day he had more and more questions. All he could think about was how drastically different his sister's life was going to be now.

"Well we're trying to look into everything we can. I guess the most important thing is that she's safe and comfortable. There might be ways that the school can accommodate her. Or there might be a different school more suited for her elsewhere." Thea said, "Baby, that's nothing you need to worry about, though." She shook her head. It was almost like James had joined in on all their adult discussions, and foolishly they'd let him. They didn't want him to carry any weight on his shoulders when it came to Sofia and moving forward. They didn't think that was fair.

"There's a girl in my biology class and she's deaf." James nodded, "Teacher gives her visual aids and stuff. So maybe there's something like that but for blind people." He said as Thea nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully." Thea smiled.

"Is she going to get a stick?" James asked, "Cause that's what blind people use. Or they have guide dogs. She'd like a guide dog, probably." He smiled a little, looking over at Sofia.

"We're gonna see what works best for her." Thea nodded.

"That's all you keep saying." James shook her head.

"James." Thea sighed.

"No, it is. Whatever is best for her? You're the mom… you need to decide that for her." James shook his head.

"I can't make any decisions right now when she needs to focus on recovering from surgery." Thea said, "But I can promise you that we're gonna get her everything and anything she needs to live just as good a life as you or I." Thea nodded, "Ok?" She assured him as he nodded.

"Ok." James nodded anxiously, "Me and Sam are staying with Papa and A tonight." He told her.

"You're doing your rounds." Thea smiled.

"We're getting tacos." James nodded.

"Oh, don't make me jealous." She nudged him as he smiled.

"Where is dad?" James asked.

"He was outside on the phone to the police I think." Thea said.

"Do they know who did it? Who hit her?" James asked as Thea nodded.

"Yeah, he handed himself in." Thea nodded.

"Will he go to prison forever?" James nodded hopefully as Thea turned to him.

"Would you want that?" Thea asked him curiously, surprised at his anger.

"I don't know." James shrugged.

"As far as we know, it was an accident. He didn't mean to hurt her." Thea nodded.

"But he still did. Now she can't see." James said, "And he drove off after."

"Yeah, I know." Thea sighed. She didn't know how to feel about the man responsible for her daughter's injuries. She was too upset to be angry. She figured it would come eventually.

"He should be blind. So he knows what he did to her." James said childishly as Thea looked at him, "What?" He shrugged.

"Nothing." Thea shook her head, "I just never normally see you like me or my family. And I do right now." She nodded.

"Mom?" Sofia woke up, turning in bed as Thea turned around.

"Hi, baby. Me and James are here." Thea told her, holding her hand out for Sofia to find it.

"Hey." James added.

"I'm thirsty." Sofia said.

"I'll go get you some fresh water." Thea told her, "James is here with you, ok?"

"Ok." Sofia nodded, finding her teddy bear in the bed with her, sitting him upright beside her whilst Thea left the room to get some water, leaving James and Sofia alone.

"They might get you a dog, you know." James said, moving his seat closer to Sofia's bed.

"Why?" Sofia questioned.

"So it can help you get around and stuff." James said, "A service dog. But he'd be yours. And he'd be really well trained and stuff." He nodded.

"I don't really like dogs." Sofia mumbled.

"Who doesn't like dogs?" James scoffed.

"Why isn't Sam ever here?" Sofia asked. She missed her little sister's voice.

"Cause she won't understand why you can't see her." James told her truthfully.

"But she can see me." Sofia said, "And I can hear her."

"Yeah I know." James said, "She might just be a little sad. She's only little."

"Will she be scared because I only have some of my hair?" Sofia questioned, "Is it really bad? I wouldn't know because I can't see." She said.

"No, it's really not." James said, "Well… there's always hats we can stick on you." He teased as Sofia smiled a little.

"Who are you staying with?" Sofia asked, "Cause mom and dad are always here with me." She said. The more rest she got, the more she was starting to question the things going on around her.

"Well we stayed with Aunt Jude last night." James said, "And we're staying with Papa and A tonight." He told her.

"I wanna stay with Papa and A tonight." Sofia sighed, leaning her head back on her pillow.

"When you get out of here we can." James nodded.

"Will you bring me some tacos in? Because I hate the food here. It's really disgusting." Sofia said.

"I'll bring you some leftovers in tomorrow for lunch." James promised as Sofia smiled.

"Ok, fresh water." Thea came back into the room with a jug of water, pouring some into a cup for Sofia, placing it into her hand for her to have a drink, "You guys talking about me whilst I was gone?" She teased.

"No, James is bringing me tacos tomorrow for my lunch." Sofia told her happily, reaching out to sit the cup of water back on the table where she figured it was when she completely missed it, dropping the cup in her lap as the water went everywhere, causing her to jump.

"I'll go get a nurse." James nodded, leaving the room as Thea took the cup from Sofia's lap.

"Sorry." Sofia mumbled. Sometimes, her body still believed she could see, and her natural reflexes still stayed with her, thinking she knew her surroundings and where everything was.

"Hey don't you be sorry." Thea said, "We'll get you changed. I brought more of your favourite pjs." She said as Sofia stayed quiet.

"My bear is wet." Sofia noticed, holding her teddy bear.

"Ok, I will put him on the radiator and he'll be dry in no time." Thea said, keeping her voice upbeat, taking her bear from her and sitting him over on the radiator, looking back over at Sofia who she could see was upset. She just couldn't imagine what it was like to be in her little body right now. It was breaking her as her mother. Completely.


"I heard from Cassie that the guy who knocked Sofia over handed himself in." Jude said, helping Sean clear the dishes away after dinner whilst the girls had headed outside to the back yard to take advantage of the good weather.

"Yeah, early this morning." Sean nodded.

"And? Has he been charged?" Jude expected, "It's a hit and run. Clear as day."

"He'll be charged in the morning probably. We've got him for forty-eight hours before we charge him with anything." Sean said, "Hit and runs don't tend to get lengthy sentences if the victim is still alive." He said as Jude turned to him angrily, "Shocking, I know." He agreed with the look on her face.

"She's blind. And he didn't even stop to check on her or get her immediate help. It's all the damn same." Jude said as Sean nodded, "So what will he get?"

"Well, they'll take into consideration the fact he handed himself in. The guy has a clean sheet, too. Not a criminal record. Not even a driving offence." Sean said, "I say he does twenty-six weeks in prison and gets his license suspended for three years."

"You're kidding." Jude shook her head, not wanting to hear anymore, "No, it must be different considering she has lost her sight because of this. It's not like she's got a broken arm or leg and time will heal all wounds. She is… she is permanently blind."

"And he's insisting it was an accident." Sean said, "I mean… I think it probably was an accident, don't you?" He asked.

"Well yeah but… but he never stopped. And he waited a few days before handing himself in." Jude shook her head.

"Hey, I'm with you." Sean said, "I'm just going by what I've saw before with similar cases." He said as she nodded.

"Yeah I know." Jude said, washing the dishes whilst he dried, "You really think Thea and Dominic are gonna settle with this guy getting let off so easily?" She asked.

"Of course not. And I don't think anyone is expecting them too." Sean said, "I mean… I put myself in their shoes and I have no idea what I would do or how I would feel." He said, looking out the window where he saw Mirren and Leela playing together.

"I'm waking up every morning and I'm praying that Thea calls and tells me that she can see again. That it was just temporary but… I know that's not gonna happen. Thea's a doctor. I can tell she knows that this is it." Jude shook her head.

"How have they been? It's a silly question but… well, they won't let anyone visit." Sean said.

"My mom and dad go in." Jude said, "I just think they don't wanna overwhelm Sofia. She's gotta be so confused and frightened. I'd probably do the same if I was them." Jude nodded, "They have each other. And James has been going in most nights I think. It's just gonna be a lot to adjust to."

"Yeah, of course." Sean said, "You think there's anything else we can do? To help them out?" Sean asked.

"That's the thing… I don't think there is." Jude shook her head, "At least we're here in Chicago now. It's good we're closer. It was nice having James and Sam stay last night."

"Yeah. James is a good kid." Sean nodded.

"You say that with surprise." Jude smiled a little.

"Well… let's just say he's nothing like his mother." Sean nodded.

"And Sam is everything like her mother." Jude nodded, "Her and Leela were getting on well last night, though." She smiled, "I am glad that we're here and we can see more of them… sucks that it's fallen under these circumstances right now."

"Well we'll all be there for them. If they need anything. I think they know that." Sean nodded.

"Yeah, I hope so." Jude said.