A/N: Okay, I'm back! And my apologies, because this Chapter 5 should have actually been the END of a very long Chapter 4.

I AM IN AWE of your reviews. Seriously, folks, unbelievable! I always try to respond to everyone individually, but for all of you who review as guests please know that I value those words just as much as all the ones to which I can reply. (And please consider setting up a account so that I can do so!)

One final note: the timing of these chapters in the overall story is a bit odd. Some days will be covered over three or four chapters, and then I may skip a month entirely. The story, when put together, will cover scenes over the course of about a year. THIS one is the continuation of the Carsons' tour of the school in Misty Cove.

Enjoy!

xx

CSotA

August 20, 2014, cont'd.

"Miss Baxter?" Edith knocked on her door and opened it slowly.

"Hello," came Miss Baxter's quiet voice. "Come in, please."

Edith held the door open and Charles and Daisy headed in. Charles took one look around and determined that Miss Baxter must be very good at her job.

The stark, cinder-block walls had been painted a pale blue color. On the wall were an assortment of posters - some were motivational, while others showed movies, cartoons, and photos of peaceful nature scenes. Several plants dotted the open space, and he noted that Miss Baxter's desk was tucked away in a corner, giving more space to the table and chairs she had out (for parent meetings, he presumed) and for the bean bag chairs set in the corner. He could hear what sounded like a water fountain, but realized as he spotted the origin of the sound that it was a hexagonal fish tank, with a variety of neon-colored creatures swimming about.

Daisy headed immediately to the bean bag chair area, where an assortment of books and art supplies were stored on the corner shelf. She looked up at Miss Baxter, who smiled kindly and nodded.

"Feel free, please," she said, waving her hand at the things. "Everything in that corner is for students to use if they so choose. Do you like to read, Daisy?"

She nodded in reply, and looked to her Papa.

"Daisy loves to read - she's quite ahead for her age," he said proudly, "and quite a good artist as well."

"Well, then," Miss Baxter said, "why don't you make yourself comfortable there while your father fills out some boring paperwork for me?"

Daisy scrunched up her nose at the word boring, and turned without another thought to peruse the books that filled the bins on the shelves.

"What a lovely area for the children, Miss Baxter," Charles marveled. "It's quite … homey."

"That's the idea," Miss Baxter said, reaching to shake his hand. "And it's Phyllis, please. Only the children call me Miss Baxter."

"Charles Carson," he said, shaking her delicate hand. "Now, let's get this horrid paperwork out of the way, shall we?"

"I'm going to leave you to it," Edith said. "Daisy, I'll be leaving in about an hour. Would you like to just come home with me, and your Papa can get on with his car shopping?"

Daisy looked to Charles in question.

"It's up to you, petal. Do you want to go with Edith directly?"

She thought about it and nodded, then turned back to her book.

"That's settled, then," Edith said warmly. "Dinner is at six - please join us if you're finished by then, Uncle Charlie." She stood up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss to his cheek. "I'm so glad you're both here."

Charles and Phyllis bid her goodbye, and Charles handed Phyllis the coffee tray. "I believe this last one is yours," he said. "Is that … iced coffee?"

"It is - caramel swirl," she said, taking the cup gratefully and tossing the cardboard tray into a bin of odd objects. "Art supplies," she added, answering his questioning look, "for when the children are feeling especially creative."

"I see - very nice." Charles turned toward the corner where Daisy had tucked herself in, having chosen to draw instead of read.

He turned his gaze back to the counselor. "I think she's going to like it here," he said. "Daisy hasn't been this comfortable in a school environment in quite a while, particularly not with a counselor."

"I take that as high praise, then," Phyllis answered. "We do our best. Edith has done a remarkable job since she started here. She truly loves the children. The entire building is a tribute to that. The school itself is quite old, but she amassed a group of volunteers from town to come in last summer and paint the place. She said it looked 'sterile,' and that it was a school and not a run-down hospital. Paid for supplies out of her own pocket."

"That doesn't surprise me in the least," Charles said. "I've known her all her life, and she's one of the kindest people I've ever known."

"I agree. Once we're done here, I'll give you a tour of the rest of the school, if you like."

They spent the next half hour filling out transfer forms and going through Daisy's records from her school in London, as well as her medical file which Charles had also thought to bring along. The counselor in London had taken the time to write a letter in which he explained his thoughts about Daisy's reluctance to speak. Charles heard Phyllis hum now and then as she read her way through it, furrowing her brow a couple of times as she flipped back and forth from the letter to the medical forms, clearly in disagreement with something.

"What is it?" Charles asked quietly, well aware that Daisy was still in the room.

"Perhaps nothing, and I'm hesitant to discount a colleague's professional opinion on someone I've never met, but … well, I suppose we'll see." She laid the letter down on the table and looked at Charles. "I assume you've read this letter?"

"I have," he grumbled. "I was … unimpressed."

"Quite right," Phyllis replied. "Let's just say I have a slightly more optimistic view on Daisy's reluctance to speak."

Daisy looked up as she heard this, a question on her pale face. Charles noted that she didn't look afraid, merely curious.

"Yes, Daisy," Phyllis said softly, "I believe that we can work together to help you to find your voice again. Would you like that?"

Daisy nodded and broke out into a hesitant smile, then turned back to her drawing.

"Thank you," Charles whispered, fighting back tears and grateful that his back was to his daughter. "It's been a very long road, and a difficult journey at that."

"I'm sure," Phyllis responded. "We'll need to do an evaluation of Daisy once the school year begins, and formulate a plan for her education. She'll need accommodations if she's non-verbal in the classroom, to make sure that her teachers treat her fairly despite her disability."

"It's not a disability," Charles argued.

"Well, in the eyes of the law, it is, but please don't worry - that's actually a good thing and will work in Daisy's favor.

"I don't mean to stigmatize her reluctance to speak to anyone but you, Mr. Carson, but we need adequate terminology to ensure that Daisy has the support she needs in the classroom in order to thrive. I'm guessing her testing won't show her in need of a special education plan, and we'll have to make accommodations through the guidance department instead. She'll likely qualify for what's known as a 504 Accommodation Plan, which requires teachers to make certain accommodations in the classroom so that Daisy can participate fully to the best of her ability. It will include a list of things like the use of an iPad to help her with communicating. There's an app where she can select from certain images to communicate her ideas, and a spot where she can use a stylus to write notes as well."

"That's marvelous - I had no idea that even existed."

"Yes, it's a fantastic tool. I can tell from her school records that Daisy struggles a bit in mathematics, too. Have you met Mr. Molesley yet?"

"No, but we did briefly encounter Miss O'Brien in the office when we arrived."

"Ah, yes ... Sarah. Well, Mr. Molesley is the teacher for Math and Science. He's quite soft-spoken and kind, and very willing to help the children with whatever they need. He's non-threatening, and has a manner with which I think Daisy will be very comfortable."

"Good."

Phyllis and Charles rose from the table and Charles headed over to the corner, crouching down next to his darling daughter. "What are you drawing, poppet?" he asked softly.

Daisy moved her hands so that he could see the paper, and his heart flipped in his chest; he saw a picture of himself, holding Daisy's hand as they stood by the sea … with a heart in the sky in the shape of a cloud, and an angel floating near it.

"Is that Mummy?" he whispered.

Daisy nodded, then reached up to whisper in his ear. "She's happy that we like it here, Papa."

"So am I, love."

Phyllis watched the scene in awe, blown over by the tender love this big bear of a man had for his daughter, the gentle way he had that was in direct opposition to his large size and deep voice. She heard a soft gasp behind her and turned to look in the hallway, where she saw Elsie standing with a piece of paper in her hand. The look on the nurse's face gave her away completely - she was as touched as Phyllis by the scene into which she'd just entered.

"Elsie?" Phyllis asked, causing Charles and Daisy to look up.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Elsie said, "but I forgot to give you this." She crossed the room and handed the paper to Charles. "It's the form for Daisy's emergency information. Could you fill it out and bring it in on the first day of school?"

"Of course," he answered, standing up with some difficulty from his crouched-down position. "Thank you," he added, taking the form from her. "I'll do that. See you next week, then?"

"Next week, Mr. Carson," she nodded.

"Charles," he reminded her.

She nodded shyly and headed back to her office.

Phyllis took the Carsons on a brief tour of the rest of the school. Charles was stunned at the age of the building; it certainly didn't look like a school built in the 1970's. The walls were painted in clean pastels, with tack boards lining the corridors. Messages like 'Welcome Back!' and 'Reach for the stars!' decorated them now but he guessed that, as the year went on, student work would be taking their place.

"This is where your classrooms are, Daisy. Oh, good - Mr. Molesley's still here."

Phyllis opened the door and Daisy passed through, looking around the room at an assortment of oddities: a constellation mobile hanging from the ceiling, a plastic skeleton hanging in the corner, an enormous wasp nest resting on the shelf. There were colorful posters showing mathematical operations being demonstrated by Snoopy and Sponge Bob … and, on the wall over the desk … a group of Minions surrounding a familiar-looking man. Daisy's eyes widened and she turned to her Papa and pointed to the poster.

"Mr. Molesley, this is Daisy Carson. She'll be joining your team this year and, I'm guessing, she's a Despicable Me fan?" Phyllis said by way of introduction.

"The first, not the second," Charles clarified, reaching out to shake the teacher's hand. "I'm Daisy's father, Charles Carson. Pleased to meet you."

"Joseph Molesley - likewise. And Daisy," he added, shaking her hand as well. "I wholeheartedly agree, by the way - the second one wasn't nearly as funny," he whispered with a wink, "although I did enjoy Minions very much." His comments earned a smile from his newest pupil.

"Well, this is quite an interesting room you have here," Charles commented.

"Thank you - I'll take that as a compliment," Joseph answered. "The children seem to like it. We do have a good time, I'll say that. Third grade is really a lovely age. The kids are eager to learn about the world around them, and have enough reading and writing skill to do more in-depth activities. And it makes for a fun math class when Mr. Bones over there," he said, pointing to the skeleton, "can help illustrate the lessons better than I can."

"I'll take your word for it," Charles said with a nod. "Well, Daisy, what do you think? Might you like it here?"

Daisy nodded and smiled again, and looked around the room.

"Today has produced the most enthusiasm I've seen about school in months," Charles said, his raised eyebrows illustrating his amazement. "My thanks to you, Mr. Molesley - and to you, Phyllis. I think we're going have a wonderful year."

"My pleasure, Mr. Carson," Joseph said. "Welcome to Misty Cove. We'll see you on the

27th, Daisy."

Daisy nodded again, and smiled at Charles. She was excited, and couldn't wait to see what Mr. Molesley's class would be like.