The Right Choice
Chapter 6
Dani arrives back home from school. She unlocks the door and places her stuff away at the entrance.
She enters the living room where she sees Emily sitting on the couch with an older lady next to her. The lady was short, pale, and had grey hairstreaks.
It was Daniela's caseworker, Ms. Jones. The caseworker noticed Dani at the entrance of the living room and stood up.
"Hello, Daniela. Nice to see you again," said the older lady, stretching her hand for a shake.
"Nice to see you too, Ms. Jones," Dani replied, shaking the woman's hand.
She had almost forgotten that she was arriving today.
Dani sits down next to Emily, who gives her a warm smile, while the social worker sits on the other couch, face to face to both of them.
"So Emily, how have you guys been since the last visit? Any problems?" asked the lady, with a pen and clipboard in hand.
"We have been pretty good," answered Emily. "No issues so far."
"Is she attending school and the doctors regularly?"
"Yes, she has," Emily said while nodding.
"Grades are well?"
"Better than ever," Emily replied proudly.
"That sounds great. Good job, Daniela," the woman commented.
The girl smiles and thanks her. After a few more similar questions of Dani's well-being, Ms. Jones asks.
"Now, have you had any instances of Daniela attempting to run away?" the older woman asked.
"No. None at all," Emily replied with an assertive tone.
"That is very good. With the number of times you have run away from foster homes, Dani, you would have been placed in another branch of the system."
Said the woman looking at Dani with a stern face. Dani nodded, biting her lip.
Emily places her hand on top of Dani's, as a sign of reassurance.
"Agent, I know your job requires you to move across the country when needed. Is everything handled in regards to Dani's wellbeing while you are gone?"
"Yes. When I have a case that is out of state I always ensure Dani has everything she needs. I have a friend who checks on her and Dani can always call or text me if she needs anything." Emily replied.
Ms. Jones writes down notes of what Emily.
"Okay Dani, do you feel comfortable in the current house and school?"
"Yes. I feel comfortable here. I enjoy my school." Dani answered with ease.
"Do you feel safe here?"
Dani smirks when hearing the question.
"Of course I do. I mean... what can possibly be safer than living with an FBI agent?" She asked with her hands raised.
Emily holds in a chuckle while glancing at the girl.
"That is true but her job is also a high-risk job. If I'm not mistaken, agent Prentiss hunts down serial killers. That means she sure has a pool of dangerous people who hate her. Are you not afraid that one of them would want to get to you?"
Emily takes in everything that the lady just told Dani. She was right, Emily has a list of people who hate her guts because she took them down.
Emily could only imagine what they would want to do with her to get revenge.
The idea of these people getting close to Dani was always present in her mind though she tried to shove it off.
Of course, she was scared about the idea of one of the killers to get near her daughter. It absolutely terrified her but she would do anything in her power to keep her out of danger.
That is the reason why she took her in, to begin with.
To protect her.
On the other hand, Daniela easily answered the question.
"Why would I be scared of that? If I remember correctly, she is the one who rescued me from one of those people," she told Ms. Jones.
"Ms. Jones, living with Emily these last two years have been great. Different but great. I have no reason to be afraid. In fact, this has been the only house that I have truly felt safe in a while." She told the older woman with complete honesty.
Emily smile widens when hearing those words from Daniela. She was glad in knowing that the kid enjoyed being under her care.
"That's great," said the woman.
"Now, I know you will hate me asking this question but it's just protocol with cases such as yours. Any recent interactions with gang members? Specifically, the gang in which your father is involved with." The lady asked with a raised eyebrow.
Dani frowns at the question.
"No. I haven't spoken to any of them in years," she answered carefully.
"Are you sure? Gang members tend not to let go of potential members so easily?"
"I made it pretty clear to of them that I want nothing to do with their business," Dani stated while leaning her back against the couch.
"They know talking to me would just be wasting their time. I will never budge."
"So you are certain they won't mall influence you into joining?"
"Let me put it this way. I would rather die than to join their filthy business," the girl said while sitting up.
Every word she said she completely means it. She would never join her father's gang or any other gang.
She knows all the damage and suffering these people have done to her community and so many others. She would never contribute to that.
Emily glances at Dani and sees that the girl truly means what she says.
Her posture, her tone, her facial expression told the profiler that there was no glimpse of Dani lying to the caseworker.
Emily knows that Daniela is a good kid. Of course, from time to time she would cause trouble but her intentions are always good-hearted.
She also knows that Dani has done more than a good job of avoiding falling into the hard world of gangs.
The girl doesn't like to talk about the subject but Emily knows that Daniela has always had the conflict of her father's involvement inside gangs.
She knows Dani well enough to know that the girl would never get involved in that mess.
She was too good for that.
"I'm glad to hear that," Ms. Jones said with a smile.
"As you both know, our goal here in the foster care system is to keep children safe while trying to build strong, safe, and stable relationships with the kids and biological parents."
"Your case is rather special. Your father, Marcus Rivera, is not exactly a person to have either of those three things."
"Yeah... I can't exactly imagine myself having a father and daughter relationship with a gangbanger," Daniela said dryly.
"Unless you want us to go out and beat up people or start shootings."
"That is why I said your case is rather special," the lady replied.
"We know that you are better off keeping your distance from your father but we also take into consideration your thoughts. Would you want a reconnection with him?"
"With Marcos?" Dani asked with confusion and disbelief.
Emily perked her head up with the same expression.
Did Ms. Jones just ask if Dani would want to build some sort of relationship with a well-known criminal?
"Yes. With him," the older lady nodded.
"The system believes that it is for the best for children to have a relationship with their biological parents, even if the relationship is neutral. I was just wondering if you would want that."
Dani bit her lip and looked down at the floor. Yes, by blood she was related to him but that is the only connection they have.
Daniela admits, from time to time she would think about how it would be to get in touch with her father.
After all, he is the only blood-related family member she has left. Though he has never done anything bad against her directly, his actions have caused her problems.
One of those problems being her having people who would gladly cut her off because of their hatred towards Marco.
"No, I think I'm good," she told her caseworker.
"So you want nothing to do with him?"
"I think it's for the best," Dani replied with a nod. "We both have our own lives. It's best if we leave it at that."
The lady nods and writes a few notes on her clipboard. She looks up at the girl and asks,
"Out of curiosity, have you ever seen your father? Maybe not recently but in the past."
Dani takes a moment to think and speaks up.
"I mean... I did go to see him but that was years ago. My uh... my mom took me when she went to go talk to him years ago. I was like seven at the time."
"Any particular reason for that visit?" Ms. Jones asked.
"It was for her to tell her about my brothers... about his death," the teenager said with a low voice.
She looks down and sighs.
" I guess she wanted to tell him in person rather by phone. I mean, it makes sense. He was his son," she commented.
She clears her throat and continues.
"Anyways, I don't remember much and to be honest I can't remember how he looks like. Like I said before, we aren't close."
"That sounds completely understandable. Thank you for sharing this information. It is a really helpful insight," Ms. Jones tells her.
Dani nods and shoots her a quick smile.
After a few questions to both Dani and Emily, Ms. Jones decides to move on to the second part of her visit.
"I think we are ready to move on to our second portion of the visit. Just a quick check-up of the house if you both don't mind," she told them while standing.
"Of course," Emily answered while standing up.
The older woman heads her way towards the stairs when Emily turns around and sees the girl still sitting on the couch.
She offers a helping hand to the girl in which Dani looks up to her and smiles. She takes the agent's hand and gets up from the couch.
Emily smiles and wraps an arm around her, placing a quick kiss on the side of the girl's head, guiding her outside the living room.
The social worker took a look around the house in order to ensure that Dani had ideal conditions to live in.
She would do this once in a while to make sure everything is in place. Daniela wishes that her other caseworker would have done the same inspections Ms. Jones would do.
That way she wouldn't have gone through all those negative experiences in some of her past homes.
She would remember the times when she would stay in foster homes that were not in the best living conditions.
In some homes, it would be small and crowded with foster kids, barely having a decent place to sleep. The people who were supposed to take care of her would either insult, harass, or even hit her.
Dani gets mad when thinking about this.
The times she actually needed the social worker to stop by for an inspection, they would never appear.
And yet, she is still questioned why she would run away? Who wouldn't? It just wasn't fair.
The caseworker was done with her inspection and spoke to Emily. She finally left telling them she would be back in a few months.
Emily closes the door and enters the kitchen where Dani is serving herself a cup of orange juice.
"Well, I think that meeting was pretty decent, what do you think?" Emily asked while leaning against the wall.
She waited for Dani to respond but didn't get an answer.
"Dani?"
"Huh? oh yeah, I think so too," the girl replied quietly while holding the cup.
Emily notices the change of tone the girl has. She was quieter and her face looked down.
The girl looked like she was deep thinking about something, ignoring her surroundings. She knows her change of mood has something to do with her caseworker's visit.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked Dani.
Daniela looks up and meets the brunette's eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied quickly. She diverts her eyes to her juice and takes a drink.
"You diverted your eyes away from me and your tone of voice changed rapidly," Emily points out.
"I'm pretty sure you know by now that you can't lie to a profiler," she said with a slight smirk.
"This is why I have a love and hate relationship with profilers," Daniela mumbled.
"I have to start to learn how to hide my emotions with you guys."
"Trust me, that will take a while," Emily told her while walking inside the kitchen.
"Until then, why don't you tell me what's got you so pensive?"
"Stuff," Dani simply replied.
She sits on a barstool, resting her cup on the kitchen island.
"Want to be a little more specific?" Emily asked.
She walks to the kitchen island where she rests her hands in front of Dani.
"Listen, I know you are probably thinking about your father. You don't talk about him much. In fact, I don't think you have ever mentioned him since I've met you and that's okay. Was it hard talking about him today?" she asked with a soft voice.
Daniela glances up at Emily and meets her dark brown eyes. She sighs and looks back down at her cup.
"I don't mention him because I don't know him. All I know from him is what he does for a living. All I know are the bad stuff he has done and is still doing," she told Emily.
"Part of me thinks it's unfair to judge him for what other people say from him. I mean... he could be a different person if I were to meet him," she told her.
"I know what it's like to be judged because of what other people label you."
Emily looks at Dani, paying attention to every word she says.
"You don't want to look at him as a bad person like others do because the same thing happens to you," she starts.
"What do you think others see you as?"
"Do you really want to know?" the girl asked while running her hand across her face. Emily nods in response.
"People see my records and see a girl with a messed up past. A kid who will most likely grow up either a drug addict or a drug dealer because that is all that she knows."
"And have you done anything to prove that they are right?"
"No, I guess not," the teenager answered.
"I don't deal nor do I use that stuff. I know what does things can do to a person." Minus the alcohol and a small amount of pot, she thought to herself.
"Exactly. Dan, you are an amazing person. You don't have to prove to anyone that you are a good person other than yourself. Your actions reflect what a great and sweet person you are," she told her while reaching out for the girl's hand.
"Your past does not define who you are today," she told her while holding the teen's hand.
Dani looks down at their hands and nods.
"Your father, he... he is a different case," Emily says with caution. "He umm..."
"I'm pretty sure his actions speak for himself," the teenager added.
"I know what he does and how he operates Los Reyes Del Barrio. I've seen what they do and are capable of. The drugs, the destruction, and the shootings. None of that is good."
"That is a life you don't want," Emily stated.
"No, of course not but it's something that I've grown up with," Dani told the agent.
"I know connecting with Marcos would do more harm than good. I mean yeah, he is the only blood-related family member I have left but there is a reason why it's like that, to begin with.
"He is one one the biggest dealer in my area. My mom would buy that stuff from his people. That is where... where she would get her fix," she pauses and takes a sip of her juice.
"And my brother. The cops told us that it was just an unfortunate accident. He was a bystander in the crossfire but I don't think that's the case. I'm pretty sure he and I were always the targets from the start because of all the enemies Marcos has."
"If I start contact with him I am pretty sure I'm signing a death contract with death himself," she said, mumbling her last sentence.
"I at least want to see my eighteenth birthday."
"Trust me when I say that you will be seeing way more birthdays than that," Emily told her.
"You will have to listen to the team and I sing happy birthday in an of tune choir voice for a long time."
Both Emily and Dani start to chuckle at the agent's statement.
They both remember very clearly hearing the team sing happy birthday, full of energy and spirit even if all their voices didn't match.
"Yeah, I guess your right," said the teen with a smile.
"I just... I hope I made the right decision in not wanting to have a relationship with him. I don't want to screw things up."
"I don't know how it feels like to have to make a decision like this one, I can only imagine," Emily told her sincerely.
"But what I can tell you is that I think you made the right choice. Out of everything, your safety is a top priority and if you having your distance from your father makes you safer, it should be that way. And if you want, you can always change your mind if you think you are ready."
Dani nods, taking Emily's words into consideration.
"Got it," she said with a smile. "And thank you, Em. For taking with me. It really helped."
"Anytime, love," Emily responded while standing up.
She smoothes Dani's hair, planting a kiss on her head, and walks to the living room.
Dani stays in the kitchen reflecting on what Emily told her. She thinks she made the right choice but there is still some hint of doubt.
She just hopes that doubt doesn't turn to regret.
Emily was in the living room, also thinking about what Dani has told her.
She was trying to stay objective when talking to Dani in regards to her having a relationship with her father but for Emily, she knows the teen is better off without him.
Part of her feels bad in thinking like this. After all, Marcos is the girl's father.
Emily just doesn't like the idea of Daniela having contact with a well-known criminal.
The agent knows the reasons for the man being behind bars, being but not limited to robbery, drug possession, gang conspiracy, and aggravated assault.
She knows this man is a potential threat to the girl and the thought of Dani getting near him made her cringe.
She wants the girl to be happy but also safe.
Emily knows that it is best for Daniela to keep her distance from this man. She just doesn't want the girl to feel pressured by her.
The woman was sitting on the couch when she received a call from JJ.
"Hey, JJ," Emily answers the call.
"Hey, Em. How have you been?" Questions the blonde agent.
"I'm doing pretty well. Just spending the afternoon with Dani."
"That's great Em," JJ replied.
"Will and I were wondering if you guys wanted to join us for a cookout? Reid and Garcia will also be there."
"That sounds like fun. When will it be?"
"This Saturday in the afternoon. We want to have one last cookout before it starts to get cold outside."
"That sounds great. We will be there," Emily answers.
"Awesome!" JJ exclaimed.
"You should warn Dani though. Henry and Michael are dying to play soccer with her," JJ says with a chuckle.
"I will deliver the warning," Replied Emily with a smile.
"Okay. Bye Em."
"See you."
Emily hangs up and places her phone down.
"Who was it?" She hears Dani ask from the kitchen.
"We have some plans this Saturday so get ready."
