Delia sat across from Trevon, watching as the young boy assembled a jigsaw puzzle. The brunette had been watching this process for quite a while now, her head cocked to the side as she observed him silently.

Patsy had taken Ellie to the grocer, leaving Delia with Trevon and a book, though she had forgone her reading some time ago. Delia knelt down off of the couch, though the young boy did not move as a result. Curiously, the Welshwoman raised a hand and held it about twenty centimeters away from Trevon's head, patiently waiting for some kind of recognition, or acknowledgment, which of course, didn't come.

Delia placed her middle finger over her thumb and snapped her fingers.

Nothing.

Trevon gave no acknowledgment that he heard the sound, still placidly playing with the jigsaw puzzle as if nothing happened. Delia frowned before halving the distance with her hand and snapping her fingers once more.

After a delayed moment, a pent up breath, Trevon shook his head in shock and looked up at Delia in bewilderment.

Smiling gently, Delia tickled the young boy, making him squeal with laughter, though the smile didn't reach her eyes as worry panged in her heart.

*****^*****
Delia sat at the office desk after putting Trevon in his crib for a nap, rubbing a thumb over an aged business card, deep in thought.

She should wait and discuss this with Patsy.

But she couldn't find it within herself to share her worries with the ginger; and it wasn't like they had to pay for anything. The brunette told herself this and made up her mind before leaning over the desk and dialing the number.

"I…no, sweetie, I just took him to get some fresh air… We might stop by Phyllis'…mmhmm…Okay, cariad… I love you too."

Delia hung up before letting out a sigh and leaning forward to dejectedly bang her head on the steering wheel. She let out a frustrated noise in the back of her throat as she clutched the treacherous cell phone that had enabled her to lie to her wife.

Well, there was no going back now.

Delia glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Trevon curiously gazing around in his car seat, fingers stuffed in his mouth.

"Okay, c'mon, let's go," Delia huffed.

"I'm sorry," Delia mumbled for the thousandth time, holding a squirming Trevon as he tried to break free of her grasp and get away from the doctor as he leaned over the two of them, holding an examination microscope.

"It's quite alright, Delia," Dr. Turner chortled, "I get crying children in here all the time."

The dark-haired doctor managed to place the tool inside Trevon's ear long enough to take a peek and frown slightly.

"What is it?" Delia fretted instantly.

"Nothing," Dr. Turner said, "There appears to be nothing wrong with his ears, but he's failed the hearing tests. It's probably some sort of nerve damage or genetic deafness."

"…oh," Delia whispered hoarsely, looking stricken.

"Don't worry! There is actually a course of treatment I want to prescribe him… He's about forty percent deaf in both ears

and I believe it is nerve damage, and therefore will not get worse with time. I want to give him hearing aid implants."

"Implants?" Delia asked dubiously, readjusting Trevon in her lap.

Dr. Turner nodded before continuing, "Yes, it's an outpatient procedure. I would place the implants just underneath the skin behind his ear, where it will pick up all the vibrations and relay them past the damaged nerves and to his brain."

"How long would the recovery time be?" Delia queried, thinking back to the pain meds they had to administer to the child.

"Oh, a few days to about a week," Dr. Turner said pleasantly, "All I would need to do is arrange for a size for the implant and a surgeon."

"I'll have…I need to discuss this with my wife," Delia said softly, "and I need to contact the agency."

"Of course, you just call our office to arrange for a date, okay?"

"I can't believe this, Delia," Patsy whispered in a hushed voice over the countertop later that night, after Ellie and Trevon were in bed, "Why on earth did you not tell me?!"

Delia stood on the opposite side of the island, looking both defensive and sorrowful.

"Because I knew how you would react, Pats! At the time I didn't know anything was wrong-"

"'Didn't know'?! Delia, are you a nurse or not?!" Patsy hissed angrily, hands clenched into fists.

"Patsy!" Delia shot back curtly, cutting the other off in a warning tone. For a moment they stopped and stared at each other, their adrenaline pumping as they attempted to calm their breathing.

"What did Dr. Turner say?" Patsy asked in a biting tone, though it was much calmer than her previous one.

"He said that Trevon is forty percent deaf in both ears," Delia murmured softly, eyeing the red head warily.

"What?" Patsy asked hoarsely, her face paling.

"But he wants to give him hearing aid implants…Pats, he's not an invalid," Delia plowed on.

"I know he's not an invalid, he's our-" but the ginger broke off, her face becoming expressionless. The thing was, she was about to say 'our son', but legally Trevon was not their son. He was a foster child.

"You still should have told me," Patsy muttered bitterly.

Delia crossed her arms and looked at the other pointedly.

"Patsy, if I told you when I found out, you would have been a mess. We needed to discuss this without worrying Ellie."

"You act as if she's still twelve, Deels, she's almost a legal adult!"

"No, I'm only being reasonable. This doesn't concern Ellie; it is about Trevon."

Patsy sighed heavily and leaned her elbows on the countertop in defeat as she buried her face in her hands.

"Pats, I'm sorry," Delia pined softly, not knowing how else to placate her.

"What do we do now?" Patsy muttered.

"Arrange for him to have the surgery after contacting the agency," Delia responded.

"Do…do we know if he will start talking?" Patsy questioned, peering back up at Delia.

"That's the hope," Delia sighed in a resigned voice. After a pause, she added, "C'mon, sweetie, let's get to bed."

Two Weeks Later…

"Okay, so that's it," Delia sighed, closing the manila envelope and looking at Patsy, "That's the legal verbatim at least."

The ginger pulled the shorter Welshwoman in a tight hug before pressing her lips on her forehead.

"I wish I could go with you," Patsy whispered hoarsely.

"I do too, but we've a fussy child on our hands," Delia murmured, kissing Patsy lightly on the lips.

The brunette pulled back and brushed her fingers over her outfit.

"How do I look?" Delia fretted.

Patsy bit her lip and raised her eyebrows, making Delia's expression become torn.

"Okay, don't answer that, I don't have time to change."

"No, darling, it's just…you look so sexy," Patsy purred, running a thumb over Delia's cheek.

"Now you choose to be flirty?" Delia mused with a smirk.

"I'm only being honest," Patsy sniffed, giving her signature smile.

"Hmm," Delia huffed, grabbing her purse and readying to leave.

"Good-luck, sweetie," Patsy cooed, wrapping a discarded scarf around Delia's neck and making it snug.

"I'll do my best," Delia whispered back, smiling warily at her wife, "I'll call you when I find out."