Chapter 53- Splish Splash Scout was taking a Bath

The next few weeks had many ups and downs. Danny was finally back to school the Monday after his stay in the clinic, but Dr. Steve wanted him to wait three weeks before going back to army training, something that Danny wasn't pleased about. If anything, he thought it would help strengthen him. Drew would let him come along to watch, but Danny wanted to participate. They kept trying to come up with a plan to attack and rescue loved ones still held captive in V-Town, but there were disputes over which way to go about it. Drew thought they should go in directly and attack V-Town, while Nikolas thought they should start at Kailano Island to rescue the captives there. Jason however, thought they should surprise them on both sides since there were captives in V-Town and Kailano Island, and Julian thought they should just build a defense for when the enemy attacks. Alexis tried to leave these decisions up to Julian and Nikolas, because any course of action suggested would give her a panic attack. Everyone on the island was joining in on self-defense classes once a week, including children three and up, except for Scout right now.

Danny and Willow were able to start taking Franklin on short walks though when he returned home from being at Jax's. He proved to not be particularly good on a leash however, as he would stop and sit still every few steps, and when he wasn't sitting, he'd chase a butterfly or eat something off the ground. They would often run into the other dog owners on their walk though and Kevin seemed to have Pavlov perfectly trained. He walked on Kevin's left side and wouldn't pass his master. Kevin even showed them some tricks he taught him. Danny had never seen such a calm dog in his life, which made him work extra hard to teach Franklin the same tricks he taught Annabelle the second when he was younger. Lucy's puppy, the runt of the litre, however, was the exact opposite from Kevin's. She named her Dockette, Doc for short, after her ex-husband which Kevin was appalled over. Dockette was so hyper and would try to chew your shoes when she ran up to you. Jonah named his and Michael's dog Willow after his teacher/the woman who once thought she was his mother which almost made human Willow cry. Rocco was over the moon to introduce his pooch, Max, who reminded him of a dog in a puzzle he used to work on with Charlotte. Danny would often meet up with Cam and Jake so Franklin could play with Harley. They'd also run into Emma and Noah Jr. quite often, walking their puppy named Ariel. And Leo, of course, would bring Annabelle the second to "the village" regularly to visit her puppies and her boyfriend Pavlov. (Leo confided in Danny that he was hoping the lovers would mate again and that he might be able to keep a puppy the next time. Danny was sworn to secrecy though so that Alexis wouldn't find out)

Scout was making some progress two weeks after being in the clinic. Sam took her to see Kevin twice a week, and she did a couple half-days at school knowing Willow would be there, but then she'd have a meltdown and want to go home to Sam. She would even let Sam leave the house for short periods and was okay with Drew, Willow, or Danny staying with her. She still wanted nothing to do with water. She drank milk everyday and Drew would have to sneak a wet cloth to Sam so she could wash Scout's body without her seeing the water. Her hair was starting to get greasy, however, and Sam and Drew would take turns trying to reassure her that the bathtub was safe. Even Monica, Julian, and Alexis would try talking to her, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

It was approaching Scout's 8th birthday, but she seemed to be acting younger than she was with her clingy-ness towards Sam. Willow was staying at Jax's for a few nights and would return for Scout's party at Wyndemere, and Drew and Sam went to the castle for a few hours the night before to set up. That meant Danny was in charge for a couple hours before their parents would return. Scout would not let Danny out of her sight and they mostly played Crazy 8s and King's Corners while Franklin slept on the couch. Scout's hair was especially oily and stringy that evening, so after Scout played her last card in Crazy 8s and smiled a little since she won, Danny decided to talk to her.

Danny cleared his throat. "Hey, Scout?"

She looked up at him. "When is Mommy gonna be home?"

"Real soon," Danny said. "Do you want to surprise her with something?"

"With what?"

"Why don't you have a bath and wash your hair, so you look good at your party tomorrow?"

Scout's eyes grew wide and her breathing sped up. "No. I don't wanna be flushed. I want Mommy!"

"But the bathtub is really small and there won't be much water in it. I'll be with you the whole time. Nothing bad will happen, I promise."

She shook her head excessively. "No! The water is scary."

"It's not scary," Danny said. "Do you remember coming to watch me compete in races?"

"No."

"Well, I did, and you watched. I swam a lot and I'm not scared of the water. In fact, I'm probably the best swimmer on this island. Well… maybe Mom too, but I'm pretty good. If anything bad happens I'll be there to stop it. Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then will you have a bath?"

"No!" she shouted.

Danny sighed. "Do you remember the bathing suits that Aunt Krissy made us for the pond?"

She nodded.

"Well, they're protector suits," Danny explained. "They protect you in the water so that you won't get flushed."

She stared at him.

"Plus, there's also the plug that protects you," Danny said. "And I promise, we don't have to put much water in it, and you can even tell me to stop if you get scared."

She frowned.

"I want to ask you think again… do you trust me?" Danny asked.

"Yes."

"And do you think I'd let something bad happen to you?"

"No."

"Don't you think it would be a nice surprise for Mom if she comes home to see that you washed her hair?"

"No!" Scout stressed.

Danny groaned. "Has Dr. Kevin talked to you about fear?"

"Uh-huh… he says the way to not be afraid is to face it, but I don't agree!"

"How do you know if you don't try?" Danny asked.

"I just know!"

"Do you think Mom and Dad like watching you being so sad and scared all the time?"

Her shoulders sunk a little. "No."

"Who do you think is the bravest person in the world?"

"Mommy."

"Well, Mom isn't scared of water. Don't you want to be brave like her?"

She scratched her chin. "Yeah."

"Well, the only way to be brave around water like Mom is to practice and get used to being in the water."

She lowered her gaze.

"Don't you want to be prepared in case you get flushed again?" Danny asked. "Don't you want to be able to swim and stop yourself from being flushed?"

"Yeah."

"Then you gotta practice. Why don't you do it one step at a time?" Danny suggested. "Just go change into your bathing suit and see how you feel in it. Do you think you can handle that?"

She looked up at him again and nodded. "You won't leave me?"

"I'll be right out here."

"Will you change into your bathing suit too?" Scout asked.

"I guess I can, yeah."

She hesitated, but then slowly made her way to her room and shut the door. Danny grinned, then went to his room and changed into his blue suit as well. When he returned to the hallway, Scout was standing in her pink and white swimsuit that Kristina made her.

"Okay, how about we go to the bathroom now?" Danny asked.

"You won't leave?" Scout asked.

"I won't."

They made their way into the bathroom, but Scout stood in the doorway. Danny walked over to the tub. He put the plug in and ran the warm water.

Scout shivered.

"It's okay, look…" Danny held his hand under the water. "It's not hurting me. It actually feels nice. Why don't you try?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, then dragged her feet over. She touched the water with the tip of her index finger, then pulled back.

"See?" Danny said. "It didn't hurt you, did it?"

She shook her head.

He stopped the running water, then stood in the bathtub in his bare feet. The water just to his ankles. "Look… the water feels warm on my feet. It doesn't hurt me at all. Want to try?"

She paused then let him help her climb into the tub. She gripped his hand tightly, but slowly eased up a bit.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Danny asked.

She smiled ever so slightly and nodded.

"Want to sit in it now?" Danny suggested.

Scout looked down at the water, then up at Danny. "You first?"

"Sure." Danny sat down in the tub and crossed his legs. "See? The water doesn't even cover my legs."

She slowly sat down beside him. "It feels good!"

"Told ya."

Scout smiled.

"Now, can I wash your hair?" Danny asked. "Unless you want to do it."

"No, can you?"

"All right." Danny grabbed a cup and scooped some water, then poured it on Scout's head.

She jolted a little.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked.

She nodded. "Do it again."

He poured some more over her head and she giggled. He continued to do so until her thick, long hair was completely wet, then started lathering on the shampoo.

They heard a click and the front door close, but Danny continued to rinse out the shampoo and Scout kept laughing.

Drew and Sam stepped into the bathroom and smiled.

"Mommy, it feels good!" Scout said. "The water feels good!"

"Well, I'm glad," Sam said.

Drew beamed and winked at Danny as he finished washing Scout's hair.