Here we go! Chapter 12! Enjoy! :-)
I DO NOT own NCIS or anything related to it…But if I could, I would!
Tony and Kate had been dating for a few weeks and despite Kate's apprehensions, things were going pretty well between the two of them. Though Kate still hadn't said "I love you," she was not afraid to show Tony how she felt about him. Kisses and hugs became common place for them though Gibbs wasn't all that thrilled about their public displays of affection at work. Kate even started to enjoy having Tony cuddle up next to her on nights when Arissa wasn't between them in bed.
Over the weeks, they had gotten into the swing of life with Arissa. Over the short period of time, she had become a part of their lives as well as the lives of the team. While Tony and Kate were at work, Arissa spent her days playing amongst various team members including Gibbs, though she opted to spend most of her time in Abby's lab, not that Abby minded at all. Reality hit however when Sharon Lee called to inform them that Arissa's court date had been set, conveniently for the day before Kate's second trimester ultrasound appointment. Though they knew from the start that this day would come, none of them ever imaged just how attached they would become to the little hazel eyed girl. While no one was too excited about the idea of her leaving, they found solace in the fact that she would be going to a family who would give her the love and support that she needed.
The morning of her court date, Tony and Kate went about their routine as usual in an effort to make the transition easier on Arissa. Wanting Arissa to make a good first impression on her soon-to-be foster family, Tony and Kate bought her a brand new pink dress, with a matching white sweater and shoes to wear to court. Kate went as far as to as put ribbons in Arissa's hair, which she styled in a ponytail with the back half hanging down and her bangs swooped across the side of her face, in an effort to distract from the scars that still remained.
"Why I have to dress so nice to go to N…Y…C…S?" asked Arissa as she watched her dress twirl while she turned around in circles in Tony's bedroom.
"It's N-C-I-S, and remember I told you yesterday we weren't going there today," replied Tony as he looked in the mirror tying his tie.
"Where we going?"
Tony hesitated trying to find the words to explain what was about to happened. Tony kneeled down so that he was eye to eye with Arissa. "We are going meet some nice people who will take care of you."
"But you and Kate take care of me."
"For a little while. Now you are going to go live with some nice people who are going to be your new mommy and daddy."
"Why can't you and Kate be my mommy and daddy?"
"Because…" Tony was speechless.
Kate walked into the bedroom.
"Morning Kate!" said Arissa.
"Morning Arissa," replied Kate with a half-smile, trying her best to hide her emotions.
Arissa walked over and pat Kate's belly. "Morning baby!" giggled the little girl.
Arissa's sweet gesture caused the tears to flow from Kate's eyes. Tony walked over and wrapped his arms around Kate, pulling her close to him. Tony placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.
"It's okay, Kate," whispered Tony.
"Nozzo, why she crying?" asked Arissa, concerned about Kate's sudden sad state.
"She's just a little sad this morning."
"Kate, why you sad?"
Kate didn't respond, unable to look at the little girl, she simply leaned into Tony's shoulder and continued to cry.
Arissa wrapped herself around Kate's leg and hugged Kate tightly. "No cry, Kate! I no like when you cry?"
Kate gently wiped her hand across the little girl's face, cupping her chin in her hand as she lifted her head and looked in her hazel eyes that were now filled with tears.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm okay," replied Kate as she wiped tears from Arissa's eyes and give the girl a smile.
Arissa smiled back at Kate. "No crying okay?"
Kate laughed. "Okay."
Tony kissed Kate on the cheek as he took notice of Kate's outfit. "Kate, honey? Your pants aren't buttoned!"
Kate was now eighteen weeks pregnant, and there was no hiding her pregnancy. Tony always knew Kate to be well put together in appearance, wearing clothes that fit her slim frame perfectly. This morning however, she wore a white button-up blouse that even when untucked clung to every bit of her baby bump. The blazer she wore with it didn't help to conceal it either, given that she was only able to button the top button on top of her stomach. Neither did much to conceal the undone button of her loose fitting black dress pants.
Kate looked down and let out a heavy sigh. "That's because I can't get them buttoned! I've gotten so big in last few weeks I can barely fit my clothes anymore! I was lucky I was even able to get this outfit on!"
Tony rubbed Kate's belly. "Aww! You want to wear one of my shirts that way people won't noticed your pants?"
"No!" spat Kate. "I don't want to wear one of your shirts!"
Kate attempted to button her pant with no success.
"My shirt is still available if you want it?" joked Tony, until the elbow in his side shut him up.
Tony, Kate and Arissa stood amongst the crowd at the family court. Arissa held tightly to Kate's hand as they watched hoards of people flow in and out the various rooms in the building. Sharon Lee walked out of one of the courtrooms and approached the trio. Seeing the woman approaching, Arissa tried to hide herself behind Kate's leg.
"Sorry, I'm late!" exclaimed Sharon. "My last case ran over."
"It's okay," replied Tony.
"My, don't you look pretty today, Arissa!" said Sharon to the little girl, who said nothing as she continued to use Kate as a shield. "Why don't we go into one of the private offices and talk?" Sharon led the three of them down the hall.
Inside the office, Kate sat Arissa down on a couch in a room adjacent to the office so she, Sharon and Tony could talk alone.
"How has she been?" asked Sharon as she took a seat at the small conference desk in the room.
"She's been fine. It's been really nice having her around," replied Tony.
"How has she been handling everything? Has she had any outburst or breakdowns?"
"No, you can barely tell she's been effected by her father's death or the abuse," replied Kate.
"That's good! That's good!"
"So what's going to happen today?" asked Tony, cutting straight to the chase.
"It should be a fairly quick process. The grandparents will take the stand first and formally relinquish their rights to her at which point the judge will award custody of her to the state. We will then go through some legal paperwork and then after that she will be released into the hands of the foster care agency who will then take her to her new placement."
"Sounds fairly simple," replied Kate.
"It should be."
"Who is the family she is being sent to? Are they here? I would like to meet them?" asked Tony with concern.
"Um, Arissa will not be getting placed with a family, Agent DiNozzo. She will be sent to a group home."
"A group home? You told me that you were going to work to find a family to take her in?" spat Tony, with anger in his voice.
"I did, Agent DiNozzo and I'm sorry! But after reviewing Arissa's case and talking it over with colleagues, I felt it was best for her to be in the care of a treatment facility."
"For what?"
"Arissa has been through quite a few emotional events in the last years, most of them occurring within the last few weeks. She is in a very sensitive state and there is no telling how she will react?"
"What do you mean react?" asked Kate.
"Children have a tendency to mask their true emotions until one day they are no longer able to handle it and they lash out. Arissa has experienced not only the loss of a parent but physical and emotion abuse; there is no way of telling how she is going to react when the reality of what happened to her hits her? It's best we place her in a residential treatment facility where staff is able to handle whatever reaction she may have."
"She doesn't need a staff! She needs someone to be there for her, who cares about her, who can help her through this!" spat Tony.
"We tried to find a family to take her, Agent DiNozzo but it's nearly impossible to find a family who is willing to take on a child with Arissa's emotional needs. Not to mention the fact she still has an enormous fear of women."
"She doesn't have emotional needs, she's three! Spend some time with her, play with her, give her a hug and a kiss and she's good to go! And as far as her fear of women goes, she just has to get to know you. She wouldn't go near Kate a few weeks ago, now she cuddles up beside her every night before she goes to bed! Not to mention that fact that she has become best friends with Abby!"
"That was just a lucky turn of events. Who's to say she will react that same way to someone else?"
"She's afraid to be alone! You send her away and it will traumatize her more than anything she has already been through!"
"I'm sorry, Agent DiNozzo but I have to do what I think is best for the child…"
The ringing of Sharon's cellphone pulled her away from the conversation for a moment.
"That was the court clerk. He says they pushed back Arissa's hearing by an hour. I know this has already been quite difficult for you so you don't have to stay if you don't want too. I'll have one of the aides take her down to the waiting area," said Sharon as she got up to leave.
Sharon opened the door to reveal Arissa standing on the other side of the door.
"Nozzo," said Arissa as she looked up at Sharon, fearfully.
"Arissa, Tony and Kate have to go now," said Sharon.
"I go with them," said Arissa as she attempted to make her way towards Kate and Tony only to be stopped by Sharon's hand.
"No, Arissa. You can't go with them," said Sharon as she took hold of Arissa's hand.
"No!" yelled Arissa as she pulled her hand away from Sharon. "I want Nozzo!"
"Sweetie, you have to come with me!"
"No!"
Arissa rushed towards Kate and Tony, but Sharon caught her, picking her up as she kicked and screamed.
"I want Nozzo!" cried Arissa as she reached her hands out for Tony. "Nozzo!"
A court aide rushed into the room, assisting Sharon with gaining control of Arissa before the two of them took her out the room, screaming Tony's name the entire time.
What do you think? Reviews are welcomed! Update coming soon :-)