Another update. It's cold here, about 7 degrees with a wind chill of 15 below and 12 inches of snow today. The whole state has shut down. Gave me an excuse to stay in and write. Some people have been asking about my saying Dave was going to adopt Skylar instead of just get custody. It's true, all Dave would need is custody but then Skylar's mom could make their life hell by continuously dragging them to court over everything. However, with an adoption, if Dave can prove abandonment, no contact by Elizabeth with Skylar for six months prior to filing for adoption, then he can have her parental rights severed by the courts. She wouldn't be able to keep dragging them to court. This is a simplified version but that's my reasoning. As usual, anyone you recognize, I don't own.
Chapter 5
Dave noticed how pretty and well maintained the grounds of the Bancroft Institute were as he and Hotch pulled into the parking lot. He saw a number of children running around, laughing and looking like they were having fun. He wondered if his daughter was one of them. They pulled into a parking spot and stopped.
"It looks very nice," Hotch said as they got out of the car.
"Yeah, it does," Dave said. He opened the back door of the car and pulled out a pretty bag. "I hope she likes this," he said.
"I'm sure she'll love it," Hotch assured him.
They began walking, following the signs to the administrative building. They went inside and stopped at the receptionist's desk.
"May I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked.
"My name's David Rossi," he said. "I have a two o'clock appointment with Dr. Holden."
"Of course, sir," she said. "If you'll have a seat, I'll let him know you're here."
The two men walked over to the waiting area. Hotch sat down but Dave continued to stand, looking out the picture window. Neither man said anything as they waited. Finally, a blond man about Hotch's age walked over to the receptionist. She pointed at Dave and he walked over to them. Hotch stood as the man approached.
"Agent Rossi?" he asked.
"Yes," Dave said.
"I'm Dr. Daniel Holden," he said, extending his hand and Dave shook it. "Thank you for coming."
"This is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner," Dave said. "He'll be in the meeting with us." The two men shook hands.
"Not a problem," Dr. Holden said. "If you'll come with me, we'll go to my office." They headed for the elevators.
Nothing was said until they reached the doctor's office. He motioned Dave and Hotch to their seats then sat behind the desk.
"I can't tell you how glad I was to hear from you," the doctor said. "I would have contacted you when she was admitted but I wasn't allowed."
"Why not?" Dave asked.
"You are listed on her birth certificate as her father but Ms. Peterson has sole custody," Dr. Holden explained. "If you had been married when Skylar was born, that would have been different. In these cases, sole custody lies with the mother until the courts say otherwise. I am obligated to follow her instructions."
"What's different now?" Dave asked.
"You contacted me," Dr. Holden smiled. "She never said you couldn't see Skylar just that I couldn't contact you."
"Nice loophole," Hotch said.
"I thought so," Dr. Holden said. "Unfortunately, this is not the first case like this or similar to it that I've had. Being the administrator means I have to know a little something about the pertinent laws."
"I should tell you that my attorney is putting in a request for me to get emergency custody," Dave said. "The hearing should be in the next day or two."
"Good. I hope you get it," Dr. Holden said. "I take it that you plan on taking her out of here should you be granted custody."
"As quickly as I can," Dave nodded. "I'll be taking her back to Virginia with me."
"She'll do very well away from here."
"Tell me about my daughter," Dave said. "Tell me about Skylar."
"Skylar is a wonderful little girl," Dr. Holden smiled. "She's a little shy around most people until she gets to know them."
"Why was she brought here in the first place?" Hotch asked.
"She quit talking," the doctor said. "Her mother said one day, she talked. The next day, she didn't."
"Any physical reason for it?" Dave asked.
"None that any doctor could find," Dr. Holden said. "She was tested by her private physician before she came here and by the staff after she arrived and there was nothing."
"Abuse?" Dave asked quietly.
"Physical, I highly doubt it," Dr. Holden said "Her mother didn't even care enough to hit her. And to answer your next question, there was no sexual abuse either." Dave and Hotch both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Emotional then," Hotch said.
"Oh, most definitely," Dr. Holden nodded, "probably from the day she was born." The doctor took a deep breath. "I don't mean to be indelicate, but do you know why she didn't have an abortion?"
"Her mother told me," Dave said. "Revenge. It was the same reason she didn't give her up for adoption."
"Skylar was raised by a series of nannies before she came here," Dr. Holden said. "Her mother didn't have much contact with her and what she did have, wasn't particularly pleasant. One day, she just quit talking and hasn't said a word since."
"What else?" Dave asked. "Does she have friends here? What about her education? Has she had the measles?"
"No measles," Dr. Holden said, chuckling. "As for friends, most of our patients are older and do have psychiatric and behavioral problems so not many friends. Her education... well, there's a big problem with that."
"What problem?" Hotch asked.
"We don't know if she can read or write, but I don't think she can," the doctor said. "She won't do a written test, whether out of stubbornness or inability we don't know, and she can't take a verbal one so we don't know what her intelligence level is. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying she's mentally challenged, not at all, just that we can't ascertain anything."
"This just gets better and better," Dave sighed, rubbing his face.
"Agent Rossi, it is my professional opinion that getting her out of here and into the custody of a loving parent will go a long way in fixing whatever may be wrong with her," Dr. Holden said. "An outpatient therapist will probably help with the rest."
"May I see her?" Dave asked.
"Of course," the doctor said. "I'll call them to let them know we're on our way then we'll head for her dorm."
After the phone call, the three men headed out of the administration building and started walking toward another building. "You have a beautiful place here," Hotch said.
"Thank you," Dr. Holden said. "We do good work here. Seventy-five percent of our patients are short-term, twelve weeks or less. Fifteen percent of the rest are less than a year."
"And the other ten percent?" Dave asked.
"Will be transferred to an adult facility when they reach twenty-one," Dr. Holden said. "With most of them, it's either we deal with them or you'll end up dealing with them"
"Killers in the making," Dave mused.
"Of every kind," the doctor said.
He motioned to a building set away from the other buildings. "That building houses our most violent cases," he said. "Our youngest is seven. When he came to us six months ago, he had already killed a half dozen dogs and cats, tortured and mutilated them."
"Classic sociopathic behavior," Hotch said.
"I know the accepted idea is you can't diagnose that young," Dr. Holden said, "but I'm not willing to wait until he kills someone to take care of it."
"The youngest sociopath we've dealt with was eleven," Hotch said. "He had killed his little brother."
They arrived at a three-story building. Dr. Holden opened the door and went in with Dave and Hotch behind him. A woman walked up to them as they entered the building.
"Dr. Holden," she smiled.
"Gentlemen, this is Marilyn Wayne," Dr. Holden said. "She's Skylar's primary care coordinator. Marilyn, this is David Rossi, Skylar's father, and a friend of his Aaron Hotchner."
"Pleasure to finally meet you," Marilyn said as she shook hands with Dave and Hotch.
"Marilyn is a licensed social worker," Dr. Holden. "Everything pertaining to Skylar's care goes through her. It keeps the duplication to a minimum."
"I handle everything from her therapy appointments to making sure she has clothes that fit," Marilyn said.
"Is she ready?" Dr. Holden asked.
"She's in the sun room," Marilyn nodded. "If you'll follow me." They secured their weapons at the front desk then started walking down the hall. "You're taking custody of Skyler?"
"Hopefully," Dave said. "What can you tell me about her?"
"In most ways, she's your typical eight-year-old little girl," Marilyn said. "She loves Disney princesses, the color green, it matches her eyes, and she loves to color. She loves music and dancing. She hates Barney but loves Bugs Bunny. Her biggest problem, other than her non-vocal status, is her temper."
"Bad?" Hotch asked.
"Explosive," Marilyn said. "It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it gets physical. The last time it happened, she went off on another patient, an older boy who had been making fun of her. She blackened one of his eyes and knocked out two of his teeth before we could get them separated. When it happens, we end up putting her in one of the time out rooms."
"Time out rooms?" Dave asked.
"It's an empty, fully padded, locked room," Dr. Holden said. "It's either that or sedate her and I'm not really fond of that option on children unless absolutely necessary. She stays inside until she calms down. She usually falls asleep when it's over."
"She's always sorry and upset when it's over and she realizes what she's down," Marilyn said. "I think a lot of it comes from the fact she can't voice her anger. If she could, I seriously doubt she'd have this problem."
They arrived at the doors of the sun room. "You ready?" Hotch asked.
"Would it surprise you if I said I wasn't sure?" Dave asked.
"I'd be more surprised if you said you were," the doctor said. "Come on. Let me introduce you to your daughter." He opened the door and they went inside.
TBC
Next update, Dave meet Skylar.