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Post by FicWriter on Mar 14, 2009 8:35:59 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 1
by JD
"Daniel!" He'd heard his name screamed by someone only an instant before he felt their hands grab him about the waist and pick him up. By then it was too late of course, his own screams had joined theirs as he saw the columns teeter and then fall.
"Mom!....Dad!..." he fought against the hold, his legs trying to make contact with anything solid in hopes of getting them to release him. "Let me go!....Mom!...Dad!..." Words started to choke in his throat as he could only begin to realize the extent of what had happened.
"Daniel...enough...I'm taking you out of here." The man's hold tightened and instead of going toward his parents he found he was being carried the opposite way.
"No...!" His screams for release seemed to only fall on deaf ears and by the time they reached the exhibit curator's office they had subsided into shuddered sobs.
"Daniel, you're all right. I'll take him" Dr. Maximillian Landry had been curator for the Egyptian exhibits for almost twenty years and he'd known Claire and Melborn Jackson for better then half of that time. He'd first met the couple while both were still in college and as they'd graduated and begun to work on their own digs the three had developed a stronger connection. He should have known better then to let them try and erect a full sized chamber entrance in the newest exhibit. Taking their young son from the security guard who had pulled him from the scene Dr Landry found himself ill equipped for the task he knew was to come. "Daniel...I've got you....quiet now." He hefted the still crying boy to his shoulder and moved fully into the office with him. "Shhh..."
"I need to go back..." Daniel found it harder and harder to get the words he wanted out. But Dr. Max was here now, and he knew his parents so he'd understand why he had to go back. "Mom....Dad...." Why was it so hard to say their names? "Please..."
"You can't Daniel..not yet...shh...quiet now." The man soothed the boy in his arms, rubbing his back to calm him, only to offer a sigh of relief when his crying gradually slowed then finally subsided as he exhausted himself and fell asleep. How was he going to tell him that his father had been killed and his mother had been rushed to the hospital with no one expecting she would live through the night? Easing the boy off his shoulder he laid him on the couch before moving to his desk. What would happen to Daniel now? Melborn had no family that he'd ever spoke of...Claire had her Grandfather, but how could he raise an 8 year old boy and continue the work that he was involved in? He had to call the man, the boy was after all his grandson and a decision would need to be made about his welfare tonight.
Maximillian Landry had no sooner started making calls on Daniel's behalf when the matter was taken out of his hands by the appearance two New York police detectives. "Dr. Landry? I'm Detective Campbell, this is Detective Jacobs, we're here about the accident."
"Yes, I'm him..please...can we go into the hall...I don't want to wake the boy." He motioned to the couch where Daniel Jackson was sleeping.
One of the two detectives flipped open a tablet he had in his hands. "That would be Daniel?"
"Yes...why all these questions, it was an accident, and I am trying to reach the boy's Grandfather."
"I'm afraid it's no longer your concern Doctor, unless you're a family member or have a claim to the boy we have to turn him over to Child Protective Services."
"Surely an exception can be made..he's just seen his parents killed...you can't take him away from people he knows at a time like this."
"I'm afraid we don't have a choice. The law is pretty clear on this, until we can locate a relative to take the boy he goes to Child Protective Services." The detectives showed no signs of wavering on the decision, a fact which seemed only to irritate the archaeologist even further.
"This is insane...he's a little boy who's just seen his entire life destroyed in front of him and now you want me to let you put him with strangers." He shook his head and moved to block the doorway so neither man could enter the office a second time. "I won't do it."
"You have no choice in the matter, you either move and let us take him or we arrest you and we take him anyway." Detective Campbell pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket as if to prove he was serious.
"I can't believe this...don't you even care about what's best for Daniel?" It was all the man could do not to slam the door in the men's faces.
"The law says this is best for him. Now you going to move and let us take him or do we just arrest you for interfering with police business?"
It took a long minute before Maximillian Landry could answer and as he finally did his voice was grim. "This is ridiculous...at least let me wake him and tell him what's happening, or is that against the rules too?" The man's words reflected clearly his feelings on the matter.
"All right...but make it fast." The two detectives followed the man into the office as if they thought he might try to flee with the boy then watched as he gently woke him.
"Daniel...time to wake up." Landry touched the boy's hair as he roused him, giving him time to fully wake before saying any more.
"Are my Mom and Dad ready to go home?" He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up, then looked around as if he expected his parents to be there as well.
Landry shook his head as he took a seat on the couch beside him. "You know they can't Daniel...you saw what happened."
"No..." He pulled away from the man's touch and stood up suddenly."I want to see my Mom and Dad...they don't like it when they don't know where I am..." He eyed the two detectives and realization began to dawn again. It hadn't been a bad dream...the tears began to fall as soon as he made the connection. "I want my Mom and Dad...why won't you let me see them?"
It was Landry's turn to rise and as he approached Daniel the boy began to back away. "You can't see them...I'm sorry Daniel, but you can't." He looked to the detectives as if somehow they held the magic that would make the truth easier to break to the boy. "You saw the accident, remember? Your Mom and Dad were hurt very badly and they had to take them to the hospital..."
"Then I want to go to the hospital too...I want to be with my Mom and Dad!" His fear at what was coming began to take hold and with it came a return of his earlier hysteria. "I have to go see them...I have to be with them!" As he made the declaration he darted for the door, his actions so unexpected that the two detectives barely had time to react. It was Jacobs who caught him and for his efforts he received a solid kick in the shin that caused him to lose his hold. The moment of freedom was all the boy needed and as he was released he skirted between them and down the hall.
"Let me...I think I know where he's going." Landry moved past them quickly, his sights set on the main exhibit room as soon as he entered the hall. As they reached the scene of the accident all three men stopped, none of them sure how to proceed as they saw the small figure standing over the ruins of the collapsed pillars. The boy's sobs could be heard throughout the room, and raising a hand to signal that the detectives remain where they stood the archaeologist slowly made his way to him.
For Daniel it was confirmation of a horror he'd hoped had been a nightmare and he found himself kneeling next to the ruined pillars, unwilling to see the blood that dampened the floor beneath them. His parents were supposed to be here, they wouldn't have left without him. "No!" His cries intensified as realization solidified and as Landry reached down to pick him up he found no more resistance.
"Come on Daniel...it's time to go." He cradled the boy to him trying to calm him again as he walked over to where the detectives waited. "Daniel...you have to go with these men now, I'm sorry...I'll try and get hold of your Grandfather but for now you have to go with them."
"No...I want my Mom and Dad..." His pleadings went unanswered as the boy was passed to the detectives. What were they supposed to say to him?
"You can call the station tomorrow and they'll tell you what's going to happen with him." Campbell passed the man one of their cards. "I'm sorry, but there's no other way to handle this."
"Sure there is." Landry made no attempt to hide his feelings as he took the card. "He's a bright kid, you're not going to be able to keep the truth from him."
"That's not our job..we were just told to pick him up."
"I want my Mom and Dad..." Daniel's cry had once again quieted and his words came now amidst shaky choked breaths as he tried to calm himself.
"Not tonight kid...not tonight..."
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 15, 2009 9:30:35 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 2
by JD
By the time they reached the Precinct house Detective's Campbell and Jacobs were both ready to be rid of their small charge. At every opportunity it seemed the boy had looked for a way to escape from the car, whether it was just fighting to open the door or at one point, resorting to actually kicking at the window in hopes of breaking it. It was that attempt that had forced the men to stop the car and required one to move into the backseat where he could restrain the child. It seemed no amount of talking on either men's part had been enough to calm the boy and with their arrival at the station both seemed to sense it would only get worse.
"Ok, kid, we're going to open the door and so help me if you try anything else I'm going to handcuff you myself." Lou Jacobs had never claimed to have paternal instincts, truth be told he'd be just as happy never dealing with kids if he could find a way to avoid it, and this one only reinforced those opinions.
If Daniel believed the man's threats he wasn't willing to admit it and as soon as the door opened he lunged for it as if he thought he could really get past the two men and escape.
"Damn it kid...I warned you." He snagged the back of Daniel's collar as the boy tried to get past him and reached for his cuffs just as his partner blocked the door.
"Lou..you can't cuff him..let me have him." Sean Campbell was the other side of the coin, the oldest of 8 brothers and sisters he had spent most of his life playing surrogate parent. While he was equally as frustrated as his partner he also had to admit to understanding the small boy's actions. "He's just upset, cut him some slack."
"You cut him some slack, I'm tired of his shit." The man released his hold but kept his cuffs handy just in case he might still make use of them.
"Daniel..my name's Sean...we're not going to hurt you, but you have to stay with us right now."
"I don't want to...I want my Mom and Dad!" He struggled as the man picked him up, the fight not yet out of him.
"You can't see them..Dr. Landry told you that at the museum...they were hurt, and right now the doctors are working on them." The man hated lying to the kid but if it would calm him down for at least a little while he figured it wouldn't hurt. "I don't think either of your parents would want to hear that you were acting like this."
The man's words struck a chord that finally seemed to register and Daniel gave up his attempts at escape for the moment, even though the man still held on to him.
"Can we call them?" His voice held the tremble of tears just barely under the surface.
"Not right now...they were hurt pretty bad, but if you behave yourself we can call the hospital later and see how they're doing." Even as he spoke the words Detective Campbell regretted them. What right did he have to lie to the kid when he already knew his father was dead and his mother would most likely follow before the night was over?
"Promise?" Daniel grabbed on to the thread of hope as he met the man's eyes.
"Yeah, I promise..." The words almost choked him but at least the boy seemed to be accepting them and for now that was the only thing that mattered. "Daniel...I bet you haven't eaten since lunch, are you hungry?"
"I don't know..."
"I bet you are, how about we go inside and then we can order something to eat...you like pizza?" Sean set him back on the ground then took the boy's hand as he spoke and after giving his partner a nod started to walk him toward the precinct entrance.
"I guess..." He allowed himself to be led across the parking lot without any protest and once inside, as his hand was released, he made no attempt to flee.
"Sarge...this is Daniel Jackson, he's going to be staying with us for awhile...think you could order us a pizza?" Sean Campbell paused at the sergeants desk as they entered, then gave first Daniel then the grey haired man behind it a smile.
"Pleased to meet you Daniel Jackson...you can call me Sarge." The older officer leaned over the desk and extended his hand.
"Hi..." Daniel hesitantly took the offered hand and gave it a lackluster shake.
"What kind of pizza do you like?" He waited to see if the boy would say more, his curiosity over why the child was there on the back-burner for the moment.
"Um..." He looked between Sean and the Sarge before answering, deliberately avoiding Jacobs who used the slight to make his way toward the detective's room. "Can I have pepperoni?"
"Sure..that's my favorite too. Why don't you and Sean go get something to drink and when it gets here I'll bring it in."
"Sounds good Sarge, come on Daniel...let's go find the pop machine."
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 16, 2009 4:33:37 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 3
by JD
While dinner had allowed things to settle into a reasonable calm it had not solved all of the two Detective's problems in regards to their small charge. Lou Jacobs had assumed the grim task of trying to locate someone related to the elder Jacksons, he had also been the one to act as the go-between in regards to Child Protective Service's involvement. As it appeared now, there was no doubt the boy would go into their custody before the night was over, a condition that his partner seemed to disagree with but which seemed inevitable. They had been able to learn that there was one family member, the boy's Grandfather, a Nicholas Ballard, but the man wasn't even in the country, and no one seemed quite sure where he even was. As much as he might dislike children, even Jacobs found himself feeling sorry for what the kid had to look forward to.
While his partner was trying to locate next of kin, Sean Campbell had found himself trying to keep Daniel Jackson distracted enough that he wouldn't think about asking to see his parents. The early part of the evening has been easy, the boy was hungry and the anticipation of pizza had kept his interest there until his appetite had been satisfied. Later, when the desk Sargent had offered to show the boy the station he had willingly released him to the older man's care. Now though it was getting more difficult and he knew the time was coming when they would have to tell the child the truth about his parents. He glanced over to the desk where Daniel had been settled with paper and pencils.
For Daniel the evening had been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, while the excitement of seeing so many new things might normally have kept him occupied for hours he couldn't deny the reason he was here. He paused in mid-line as his thoughts returned again to his concern for his parents, the picture one he was drawing for them. He studied the image of the pyramid and the Sphinx beyond it and found his thoughts instantly returned to the museum. That he could call up the scene so quickly and in such detail was both a blessing and a curse and he found himself wishing he could turn it off. His mother had always told him it was a gift he would never regret and he hated himself for wishing now she were wrong. He dropped the pencil and covered his face with his hands as the tears came again...he wanted his mom.
"Damn." Sean Campbell rose as he saw the boy break down and moved quickly to his side in hopes of distracting him again. "Hey Daniel...it's okay." He gathered him into his arms and wasn't surprised when the boy's arms went around his neck in response. "It's alright." He offered the consolation even as he knew it would never be alright for him again.
"I want my mom and dad." The request was one that had been the same since their first meeting and as much as he might wish otherwise the detective knew it was never going to be one that he could grant.
"I know, Daniel...but you know they can't come here and right now you can't be with them." He rubbed his hand in circles on the child's back, feeling the tremble under it as he did.
"You s...said I c..could c..call them." The words came with difficulty amidst the tears.
"I know I did but not yet. You know, it's getting pretty late, why don't we see if we can find you somewhere to lay down so you can get some sleep." He knew the compromise was one offered more for his benefit, but the young boy had to be exhausted and sleep was something he needed.
"C..can I g..go to the hospital...t..tomorrow?" He needed something to hold on to.
"We'll have to call the doctors in the morning...I can't say for sure." The longer he lied the worse it would be, but if it gave the kid some hope what could it hurt? Sean found himself asking the question even as he offered the him the slim hope to hang on to.
"B..but we'll c..call them?" He struggled for the words as he choked on his own tears.
"Yeah, we'll call the doctors in the morning...I promise." It was hope...how could that hurt him? "Now though we need to find you someplace to sleep."
"I c..cant go home?" His voice began to calm as his crying eased.
"Not tonight little man...I'm sorry." He settled the boy more comfortably on his shoulder before carrying him into the break area. The room was one of the few with a couch, and while it wasn't an ideal place for a child it was in no way the worst. Laying him down he knelt beside him so that he could continue to rub the child's back. "Just try and go to sleep now Daniel...I'll be close by and you don't have to worry about anything here.." He found this reassurance easier to give.
"We'll call them in the morning?" The need for confirmation came quietly even as sleep pulled at him.
"Yeah, we'll call the hospital in the morning...now shh..." It took another fifteen minutes for him to be sure that Daniel was sleeping and surprisingly another ten before he could bring himself to leave his side. The child's world was in ruin and if he could offer him some sense of security , even for only a short period of time how could he not do it? He found himself running his fingers through the towhead's hair before rising. "I'm sorry kid, I wish none of this had ever happened." He voiced the apology even knowing that no one would hear the words...before heading for the door. "Things will work out kid...I'll make sure of it." He flicked the lightswitch off as he reached it knowing even as he made the promise that he had no idea how he would fulfill it. Something about this small boy had pierced the armor that allowed him to remain immune to all that he dealt with on a daily basis, and even now, watching the small boy sleep, he wasn't sure that he'd ever be the same again.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 16, 2009 16:50:23 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 4
by JD
"Any word yet?" Sean Campbell raked his hand through his hair, a night spent sleeping in his desk chair reflecting in his wrinkled shirt and the growth of reddish bearding on his face.
"From Child Protective Services?" Lou Jacobs on the other hand looked too refreshed, a condition that was not lost on his partner.
"Who else? I can't believe you went home last night." He shook his head as his face settled into a mask of disapproval.
"You're the one who wouldn't let someone else take over for the night so you could go home, don't go blaming me." The man started for the door to the breakroom to get his morning coffee.
"Lou..the room's off limits right now." Campbell pointed to a sign taped to the closed door.
"For Christ's sake...you're telling me I can't get coffee because that kid is asleep in there?"
"Captain said it was alright...I had to put him somewhere to sleep..."
"You could have taken him over and dropped him on their doorstep, then they wouldn't have the excuse of being too busy to book him in." The man returned to his own desk and dropped into his chair. "This is gonna cost you."
"I wasn't about to take an 8 year old kid and just abandon him...besides, you'll live without your coffee until he wakes up." Sean rose and stretched the kinks from his back.
As the two men discussed his fate in the squadroom Daniel Jackson remained asleep, away from peering eyes in the breakroom. For most of the night his sleep had been restless, images of his parent's accident twisting themselves around those of happier times....
"Danny...come on...if you're coming to the museum we have to go now." The face of his mother and the sound of her voice seemed to wrap a comforting warmth around him.
"I can't find my dinosaur book..." The boy crawled farther under his bed as he called his excuse back to his mother.
"Now Daniel..we're leaving, with or without you." It was his father's voice now and it's tone left no doubt to the truth in his words.
"I found it!" His shout of success arrived a moment before he crawled back out and climbed to his feet. "Wait for me...don't leave without me..."
"Don't leave without me." The words came aloud as the dream solidified itself and as it shifted to the scene inside the museum he began to grow more restless.
"Danny...take your book and find somewhere to read, your dad and I have to get this set up before the advance showing tonight." He could almost feel the touch of her hand on his hair before she spoke again. "You know what your dad will do if you don't stay out of the way."
"I know...but I'm old enough to help." He stalled for those few moments more after glancing around to see where his father stood.
"Not on this, when we start to set out the artifacts, then you can help, now go before your dad catches you where you're not supposed to be."
"Claire..are you coming? We haven't got all day..." Melburn Jackson's voice put an end to the small boy's delaying tactics.
"Go find somewhere to read...I've got to go..." Claire Jackson leaned down to plant a kiss on her son's cheek. "I'll come get you when it's okay for you to help."
The images played out in his head like a movie and as they neared the climactic conclusion his restlessness only worsened. As the inevitable ending came the boy woke with a scream that sent chills through most of those in the squadroom.
"Shit." Sean Campbell ran for the breakroom as he heard the scream and as soon as he reached him he scooped the child into his arms. "Shh...you're alright..it was just a dream..."
For Daniel it was far worse then a dream and he wrapped his arms around the Detective's neck as sobs of grief and horror racked his small frame.
"Easy...shh...it was just a dream." Sean held the boy as tightly as his arms held him, somehow sensing the need, then he glanced to the door, aware that they had an audience. "Shh...Daniel...you're alright..." He knew the words were a lie even as they left his mouth, the child wasn't alright, he'd never be alright again, or at least not in the way he had been.
"I..I w..want m..my m..mom and dad...." The words were barely understandable and almost as soon as they were out his sobs seemed to worsen.
"You know the truth don't you Daniel?" Sean Campbell had never meant to ask the question aloud...but once said it was impossible for him to pretend it hadn't happened. When the boy seemed to tense in response and then tighten his hold on the Detective's neck he had his answer. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."
In that instant all of his hope had fled and with it Daniel realized that his world as he knew it no longer existed. He couldn't tell anyone this though, couldn't ask what would happen to him with his parents gone...all he could do was express the grief that he was sure was never going to end.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 20, 2009 8:10:08 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 5
by JD
With the sudden onslaught of the small boy's hysteria no one in the squadroom noticed the woman who had entered behind them. Margaret Hastings had only received the casefile on her latest child half an hour before, she'd had no chance to read up on the boy, and she had certainly not expected her first sighting of him to be what was before her now.
Daniel's crying had not lessened since Sean Campbell had picked him up, if anything it only seemed to have worsened and the Detective was rapidly beginning to think he might never get the boy to stop.
For Daniel it was not much better, and his continued hysteria had begun to make it difficult for him to catch his breath. Even with Sean rubbing his back and offering reassurances that he would be taken care of he found no comfort, and his tears were soon mixed with choked coughing as he tried to find his breath within it all.
It took Margaret only mere moments to decide she had seen enough and dropping her folder on the nearest desk she strode across the room to where the detective was trying to console the child. "I'll take him..." She grasped one of Daniel's arms in an attempt to release the vice like hold he seemed to have on the man's neck.
"No..!" The boy's hold tightened as the strange woman reached for him, panic at the unknown feeding into the flames that were already consuming him. "No..!"
"He's alright...I don't mind." Campbell stepped back hoping the woman would get the hint that she was only making matters worse.
"He needs to stop...and I don't see you doing anything to make that happen."
"Just who the hell are you lady?" Lou Jacobs moved toward the group, ready to offer back-up to his partner if needed.
"Margaret Hastings, Child Protective Services...I'm here to pick up a Daniel Jackson, who I believe this must be...now if you'll hand him over to me." The woman's tone was all business and if the behavior of the boy in front of her had any affect on her she wasn't showing it.
"Give me time to let him calm down, he just woke up from nightmare and ..."Sean paused, not really wanting to say aloud what they all knew. "He just needs some time." He rubbed Daniel's back as the boy calmed slightly and buried his face against the detective's shoulder. "I've got you Daniel, I'm not letting anyone hurt you..." He walked a short distance away as he whispered to the boy.
"I don't have time for this, I need to take him and get him in the system so I can get a placement found for him." She moved back over into the detective's space before again reaching to take Daniel from him.
"Maybe you need to get somebody here then who has the time...the kid sure doesn't need this." Lou Jacobs again interceded on his partner's behalf. "What if we bring him down ourselves..give him a chance to get used to the idea?"
"He's had all night to get used to the idea." She paused in mid sentence and looked between the two men. "You did tell him we were taking him?"
"Uh...not really..." Sean offered her an apologetic shrug before returning his attention to Daniel.
"We thought it might be better to wait...he was pretty upset and...well...it seemed better to not dump something else on him." Lou finished the explanation for his partner.
"This is better? " Margaret's face settled into a frown before she glanced at her watch and sighed. "Alright, here's what we can do, I have an appointment in an hour, I'll be tied up until about 11:00, at 11:15 I want you to have him in my office." She walked back over to the desk and picked up the files she had laid down then pulled a card from her binder and passed it over. "No later, do I make myself clear?"
"Yeah, we hear you, we'll be there." Sean Campbell smiled down at the boy on his shoulder as he finally quieted to soft sniffles.
"Don't make me have to come looking for you, Detectives." She offered the warning before approaching Sean and Daniel. "I'll see you later at my office Daniel, and we'll get you all taken care of." Her words offered a semblance of comfort in them before she looked between the men again. "11:15...no later." Without even giving the men a chance to reply she turned on her heels and a moment later she was gone.
"That was fun." Jacobs offered the comment sarcastically as he stared at the woman's disappearing form.
His partner's concerns laid elsewhere and he simply nodded as he tried to encourage Daniel to look at him. "You hungry? How about we go get us some pancakes, you do like pancakes right?"
Dragging his hand across his nose the boy nodded before laying his head back on the man's shoulder. He latched onto the sense of safety he found with the detective, while all the while wishing he would wake from the nightmare that he seemed trapped in so he could go back home to his mother and father.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 22, 2009 3:34:17 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 6
by JD
"Can't I stay with you?" The question came from the small boy just as the diner's waitress laid the check on the table and it caught both detectives off-guard.
Sean Campbell shot a quick glance to his partner before responding. "You don't want to come to my house Daniel, I work all the time and there wouldn't be anyone for you to play with there."
"I could go to work with you, I went to work with my mom and dad..." His voice trailed off as he realized that he wouldn't ever be able to do so again.
"The work we do isn't the place for a little boy though." Sean laid his hand on Daniel's back as he spoke. "We're going to take you somewhere that you'll have other kids your age to play while we're trying to find your Grandfather."
"But I don't want to go somewhere else, why can't I wait for him at home?" He was grasping at straws, not yet ready to jump right into another unknown situation.
"You can't go home Daniel, I'm sorry, and we have to go do our jobs so you can't stay with us." As he saw the start of tears forming in the boy's eyes he quickly added, "We'll come to visit though, won't we Lou?"
"Yeah sure..." Detective Jacobs read the look on his partner's face and immediately came to his aid despite his own personal feelings on the matter.
"Promise?" These men were all he had at the moment and Daniel found himself unable to accept the thought of them not being with him.
"We promise, I can't tell you we can come every day, but we'll come when we can." Sean knew he was probably breaking every rule in the books even as he made the vow but the look on the boy's face and the tears that were close to falling again made any other answer impossible. "We had better get going, otherwise Mrs. Hastings is going to be out looking for us."
There wasn't anything left for Daniel to do but nod so that's what he did before sliding out of the booth and taking detective Campbell's hand as it was offered. He remained silent on the walk to the car as well as throughout the drive to the offices for Child Protective Services and it was only as they opened the door for him to get out again that he finally spoke.
"I won't even get to see my mom and dad again will I?" Sean Campbell was halted in his tracks by the force of his question and it took all he could muster to knee down and put himself eye level to his questioner.
"No, Daniel...you won't...I'm sorry." He barely had time to open his arms before the boy staggered into them, the tears he'd managed to hold back all through breakfast again falling with full force. "It's okay little man, you don't have to worry about anything, you'll be taken care of." The words threatened to catch in his throat as he voiced them but he knew they were ones that needed to be reinforced, he could only pray that they were true. Rising he resettled the weight of the boy in his arms, running his hand over his blond hair. If he thought he stood half a chance he'd take the kid...but being single, and with the hours he worked...that was impossible..." He shook off the suggestion as soon as it formed and instead forced his attention to the offices. He had to turn him in, there was no other choice.
The walk across the parking lot and into the CPS offices might have been a death march for the silence and sense of dread that settled over the two detectives. Both men had made this walk more times then they wanted to think about, but never had they felt the way they were feeling now. Once inside Sean eased Daniel off his shoulder and once he was standing he knelt in front of him.
"I'm going to give you my card, on the front is the number at the station and on the back is a way to reach me if I'm not there. If you need anything, you call me okay?" He withdrew the card as he spoke, then scrawled his name and two numbers across the back before handing it over. "Anytime you need to talk to me you call me."
The boy took the card though he didn't say anything and after staring at it for several moments then nodded as he slid it in his pocket
"We ready to go in?" Detective Campbell rose and offered his hand to the boy.
It took Daniel Jackson longer to make the decision but neither of the two men rushed him, knowing this was something he had to accept in his own time. When he finally reached out to slide his hand in the detectives the man smiled. It was a start, and they couldn't ask more of him then that.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 23, 2009 5:17:14 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 7
by JD
Daniel Jackson had never felt more alone in his life then he did in those moments that he watched Detectives Campbell and Jacobs walk out of the CPS office door. Even though the men had been strangers just the day before there was no denying that they were still his final tie to his parents.
"Daniel?" A woman's voice interrupted his thoughts . Sniffing back threatening tears he pulled himself up as straight as he could before turning to look at her. "Your name is Daniel right? Daniel Jackson? The woman came closer then stopped so she could kneel before him, assuring herself she was at eye level to him.
"Yeah." He bit his lip as he struggled to keep the little remaining control he held on his shaky emotions.
"Well Daniel, my name is Shatara Evans and I'm going to be keeping you company while Mrs. Hastings finds a place for you to stay." The young black woman offered a smile she hoped would ease some of the boy's fears.
"I can stay at my house." Even as he offered the compromise he knew how it would be received.
"You can't, I'm sorry, you have to stay somewhere that an adult can look after you." Shatara couldn't miss the tremble of fear that passed through the boy before her, and she wanted nothing more then to pull him into her arms and hold him until she could convince him that everything would be alright. As he took a step backward she found herself releasing a sigh. "Daniel, I'm sorry that things have to be like this, but you haven't got anything to be afraid of.."
"I'm not afraid." He tried to sound firm but the break in his voice betrayed the truth. "I can take care of myself until my Grampa comes to get me." He hoped he sounded more convincing to her then he did to himself.
"No, Daniel, you can't." The woman rose so she could move closer to him. "We have our rules and one of them is that we have to put you somewhere that an adult can look out for you until we find a family member who can come to get you."
"No!" He glanced quickly towards the door as he debated making an attempt at escaping.
Shatara couldn't say what made he reach for the child in that moment, all she knew was that somehow in those few seconds the boy's defiance seemed to dissolve and as he resolved himself to his inevitable fate so came the tears. "Shh, it's all right." Dropping to his level she drew him first into her arms and then as she sat on the floor, onto her lap. "We're going to take good care of you Daniel, I promise you."
For the next ten minutes Shatara did little but offer reassurances to the boy that he would be safe and taken care of. What else could she offer him, the world he knew was in shambles and he was alone among strangers. When his tears finally eased she ventured again to more normal conversation in hopes of drawing him out and away from thoughts of his situation.
"Daniel...do you read? I think there are some books in my office, I bet I could find some crayons too if I looked." She trailed her fingers through his blond hair as she spoke.
"I don't want to read...I want..." He caught himself as he started to ask for his parents again and fresh tears joined those already trailing down his cheeks.
"It's not going to be that bad, other kids will be there so you'll have someone to play with." Shatara wished she had more to offer the boy, something he might be able to grab onto that would sustain him until a more permanent arrangement came his way.
"I don't want to play with other kids." He rubbed the evidence of his tears away with his sleeve as he fought to regain control.
"I don't believe that, I bet you'll feel differently once you get there." The woman found herself grasping at straws as she tried to find a connection with her small charge. "What grade are you in at school?"
"I don't go to school...my mom teaches me..." As he answered her simple question the realization dawned that even that was no longer true. "I don't want to stay here..." He pushed the woman's arms away before crawling off her lap and standing.
"Daniel, I explained that to you." The woman rose as he did, already anticipating that he might again try to flee. "You don't get to decide that, I'm sorry but that's just how things are."
"You don't understand...I have to be at home...they won't be able to find me if I'm not there." He clenched his hands into fists as he struggled to put the force into his words that might make her change her mind.
"You can't baby, I'm sorry..." How many more times would she have to apologize for doing the only thing that was open to her? "We'll make sure that anyone who is looking for you knows where you are, don't worry."
He wanted to yell, to scream at the woman as he hit her over and over until she understood that home was the only place he should be but instead he simply stared at her, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white. He wanted things to go back to the way they were and that couldn't happen unless he were back home.
To be continued....
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 24, 2009 3:21:00 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 8
by JD
"I hate you and I hate this place." Daniel Jackson's words were laced with a venom born of a small boy's frustration at a situation far beyond his understanding. "You can't make me go anywhere." His jaw tightened as he threw his final words of defiance toward the social worker before him.
"I'm afraid we can and you'll do exactly what we say, is that understood?" It was not the young black woman who responded and Daniel almost jumped when the words came from behind him. "I said...is that understood?" Margaret Hastings had worked within the social services system for close to 25 years and her experience had left her with a hardened edge that left little room for anything other then business. Her severe demeanor often put her at odds with younger workers and despite their efforts to encourage her to a more compassionate stance she refused to budge.
Turning toward the woman Daniel's determination only seemed to strengthen. "I hate you too."
"Miss Evans, you can see to your own cases now, I'll take him myself." Before he could even react the woman had crossed the distance that separated them and taken hold of his arm.
"Let go of me!" Daniel immediately began to resist the hold, pulling against it in an attempt to free himself.
"Stop that right now." Margaret's grip tightened and instead of releasing him she took hold of his other arm, narrowly avoiding a poorly aimed kick in the process. "I said stop." The woman accented her words with a rough shake in an attempt to get his attention again.
"Mrs. Hastings..it's no problem for me to stay..." Shatara Evans moved closer to Daniel herself, hoping she might somehow calm him before things progressed any farther.
"I said I would take him." The older woman's attention remained on Daniel even as she refused. "If you don't stop now I'll take a paddle to you." Whether it was the tone of her voice as she made the threat or the second shake that accompanied the words the boy abruptly ended his struggle.
"I still hate you." He spit the words out with a bitterness he hadn't realized he even held.
"Hate me all you want little boy, but it's my job to find you somewhere to stay and that's what I intend to do so listen up." She paused to make sure she had his full attention. "You will go where I tell you to go and you will do what I tell you to do, do I make myself clear?" When he did not immediately respond she tightened her hold on his arm until he yelped. "I said, do you understand?"
"Yes." The word came out as a quiet hiss. He wanted no part of the woman and the sooner he was rid of her the better, if it meant agreeing to comply then that would be what he'd do.
"Good...now, you will do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it and we'll have no more of this nonsense, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." His jaw tightened again as he tried to override threatening tears with anger directed toward the woman.
"I don't think your parents would be too happy with you acting this way would they? I doubt they raised you to be this rude." Margaret released her hold on Daniel as she let her words sink in.
Realizing that what she said was true Daniel dropped his eyes to the ground, he didn't want to admit she was right even if she was.
"Good, now that we've settled that it's time to go." She paused as he lifted his eyes, it was clear that he wanted to say something but the force of her earlier words made him remain silent. "I have somewhere you can stay while we look for your grandfather."
The tremble of fear swept through him before he could stop it, he didn't want to go but what else could he do? He couldn't run away from them...
"They're nice people, Daniel, it'll be all right." For the first time Margaret Hasting's tone softened. "You'll like them, you'll see."
He didn't want to like them but he couldn't tell her that so instead he remained silent and as the woman offered him her hand he found himself taking it without protest. He was tired of fighting, all he wanted now was for it to all be over...but that couldn't happen, it would never be over. He sniffed back tears as his thoughts returned to the reason he was in the situation he was in, his parents were dead, and he was alone, nothing would ever be all right again.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 25, 2009 1:19:56 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 9
by JD
The drive to the home of the couple that would become Daniel Jackson's temporary family was one made in silence but not for Margaret Hastings lack of trying to engage the young man with her in conversation. Daniel had refused a seat in the front of the stationwagon beside her and had instead taken up residence in the far corner of the back, with his head bowed to rest on his knees. Margaret was sure the boy wasn't crying and so she had allowed him his time alone to make peace with what was still to come for him.
Daniel's being an only child would make his placement difficult as those families with spaces all seemed to be those already housing 3 or more children in their care. It wouldn't be an ideal arrangement but it was far better then having him sit in a shelter and so for now it would have to do.
Pulling to the curb after close to an hour's drive the woman shut the engine off and turned to face the boy behind her.
"Daniel..we're here." Even though he had failed to respond she knew he had heard her and after a moment more of silence she released a sigh and turned away before climbing out of the car herself. Walking around the car she opened his door.
"Come on, Daniel...time to get out." She reached for his arm and was surprised to find none of his earlier aggression in his reaction. "Come on, you'll be fine." She coaxed gently and after a long minute he lifted his head to look at her.
"I don't want to be here." His words held no anger and in fact came with almost no emotion to them at all.
"I know you don't, but you have to stay somewhere while the authorities try and find your grandfather."
"Put me in jail." The words had an eerie hollow ring behind them.
"We don't put little boys in jail, especially when they've done nothing wrong." The Social Worker gave him a moment to absorb her words before trying again.
"You'll like the McDowell's, and they have 4 other boys so you'll have other kids to play with while you're here."
"I don't want anyone to play with...I just want to go to "my" home." His words held a finality to them, as if he hoped that by having put voice to his hope that would make it transpire. He dropped his head to his knees again, in his mind the conversation finished.
"Mrs. Hastings..welcome!" A booming voice stopped the woman before she could respond and she turned to the source of it with a smile.
"Colin, good evening." She wasn't surprised to find the rest of the boys in his care already piling out onto the porch followed closely by his wife. "I'm afraid Daniel isn't quite ready to come out yet." She offered the apology and resisted the urge to bodily drag the boy from the car.
"Tell you what, my wife just pulled some cookies out of the oven, why don't you go in and have some coffee while I get to know Daniel a little bit, we'll be in right behind you."
Experience in dealing with the man left no doubt in the worker's mind that he would be better able to get the boy from her car and she simply nodded before walking toward the porch.
"Good evening Mary, boys." She somehow resisted the urge to turn back and see what was happening at her car and instead greeted the rest of the family as she reached them.
"Hi, Daniel...my name's Colin, mind if I talk to you for a while?" Colin McDowell was a large man and while that often worked in his favor he also knew it could just as easily intimidate new arrivals, with that in mind he squatted by the open door.
"My wife just baked some chocolate chip cookies...how about you come inside and have a couple." He studied the bowed head in hopes that he might catch some small reaction to the offer, when none was forthcoming he decided to try again.
"I bet this is pretty scary for you..coming to somewhere you've never been before and being asked to stay with people you don't know. Daniel...all of the other boys here have been through the same feelings and it's okay that you have them, but you still have to come inside." Rising he placed his hand on the boy's arm, giving him a moment to register it as being there before he attempted again to coax him from the vehicle.
"Come on, Daniel..everyone is waiting to meet you." He pulled gently on the boy's arm to accentuate the request.
At the contact Daniel lifted his head and while he had not yet been crying it was clear it was a battle he was very close to losing. "I don't want to meet anybody."
"That's fine too...we can go inside and I can show you to your room, you can meet the others at dinner. Is that a deal?" When the boy nodded and started to slide toward him Colin found the smile surfacing easily, he'd been through this far too many times not to know how difficult it was for the boys and he would take his wins as they came.
"So, Daniel...we usually make a special dinner for our boys when they first come to us, what would you like to have?"
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 25, 2009 20:41:18 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 10
by JD
He was alone. Daniel stared at the doorway long after "the man" had disappeared through it. "The man". He'd told him his name but he wouldn't use it, he wasn't going to be here long enough to need their names. Their names weren't important.
"The man" had said this was his room, but it wasn't. His room was the one at his house. The house he shared with his parents, not with strangers. The house that held his things and the things that were important to his family.
Pulling his eyes off the doorway he looked around the small room, someone else was staying here, someone else who had been told that he couldn't go home. The other half of the room stood in stark contrast to the side he sat on, toys peeked from under the bed and posters of football players and robots decorated the walls. "His" side was empty. "The man" had told him he'd be able to decorate it however he wanted but he wouldn't, it wasn't "his", nothing they could say would make it that. Nick would hear about what had happened and he'd come and get him. All of this would be just another part of something he wanted to forget.
Sniffing back newly offending tears Daniel dropped his eyes to the floor in front of him. He could hear their voices rising up the staircase in the hall. He could hear their laughter, the way they were pretending that everything was "normal". Maybe this was "normal" for them, but it wasn't for him, no, nothing would ever be "normal" for him again.
With that realization crystallizing in his mind the tears again fully broke and he rubbed them away with the back of his hand as he retreated to the farthest corner of the bed. Why wouldn't they let him go to the hospital? Why couldn't they understand that where he needed to be now was with his mother and father and not with people he didn't even know?
"Hi." The hesitant greeting surprised him and he drug his arm across his nose before raising his eyes to the person who spoke. "My name's Vernon, that's my bed." The boy pointed to the opposite bed before cautiously entering the room.
"You can play with my toys until you get your own if you want." The boy dropped to his knees and rummaged around under his bed before appearing again with a football in his hands.
"Do you talk?" He tossed the ball in the air only to catch it again as it fell. "Carl didn't talk when he first got here but now you can't get him to shut up." He stretched out on his own bed and began to toss the ball into the air above him.
"They're nice people, Colin and Mary, you could be in a lot worse places." At least two years older then Daniel, the boy's words held the wisdom of one who seemed already too experienced with what the other was just beginning to face.
"My mom wasn't able to take care of me anymore...that's why I'm here. I was in shelter before, you don't want to go there." He raised up and tossed the ball across the room only to frown as he watched it bounce across the bed when the other boy ignored it.
"You'd better make the best of it, I'm telling you, you don't want them to send you somewhere worse." The older boy rose and moved around the bed so he could retrieve his football.
"I'm going back home." Daniel sniffed back his tears and tried to force an air of confidence into the words as he voiced them.
"Sure you are, we all are." Vernon returned to his own bed as he spoke. "So, do you like football? Carl isn't very good but Tevin is, he's 12 though and is pretty big...watch out if he tries to tackle you."
Before Daniel could respond to the boy the sound of footsteps in the hall signaled the approach of someone else. A moment later "the man" appeared.
"You guys getting to know each other?" Colin leaned casually against the doorframe with the question.
"He doesn't say much." Tossing the ball aside Vernon climbed off the bed and walked over to where the man stood.
"Daniel just needs some time to get used to things. Isn't that right, Daniel?" He lay a hand on the other boy's shoulder as he reached him, when no response came in return Colin sighed. He knew better then to rush the boys but that didn't ever make it easy, he'd been here far too many times to count and as hard as it was he would return to this place many more times in the future.
To be continued.
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Post by FicWriter on Mar 29, 2009 4:08:11 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 11
by JD
"Daniel, I think we need to talk." Colin McDowell waited until he was sure Vernon had made his way down the stairs before speaking.
"I'm not sure what you've been told about everything that's happening, so I'm going to tell you what I know and then we'll go from there, is that okay?" He waited a moment to see if the boy would respond before moving over to the bed and taking a seat near him.
"Come sit beside me." He patted the mattress in invitation and after a slight hesitation was rewarded for his efforts as the boy scooted over to sit beside him. If he had acted on his first instinct he would have in that moment pulled the child into his arms and done nothing more than hold him, but it was too early for that familiarity. When Daniel had settled he drew a breath in preparation, what was to come next would not be easy for either of them but it was something that needed to be done if any kind of healing was going to begin.
"Daniel, I know you saw the accident at the museum so you know that your mother and father were hurt very badly." He paused in case the boy wanted to add anything, but when the pause was met only by silence he continued. "You know they took them to the hospital, the doctors there worked on them for a very long time." He paused again as he heard first sniffling and then soft sobs begin beside him. "I know they told you that your parents died but I think you need to know that the doctors made sure it didn't hurt when it happened. The doctors did everything they could to try to save them but their injuries were just too severe and they couldn't."
As the reality again crashed into him the wall that Daniel had been so valiantly struggling to keep intact crumbled. The opening was finally there and Colin gathered the boy into his arms as he had wanted to do since the moment he had first seen him huddled in the backseat of Mrs. Hastings' car.
"Let it out Daniel." Colin rubbed the boy's back as the choked sobs wracked his thin frame. There was little point in saying more, consumed with grief the child was beyond hearing anything but his own cries, comfort was all that was needed now and the man knew he would offer it as long as he was allowed to.
"Shh...shh, you're going to be alright." He whispered reassurances into his charge's ear until he felt his cries finally begin to ease.
"Daniel, Mrs. Hastings is trying to find your Grandfather, but until she does you're going to have to stay here with us. I know you don't want to, you want to be at home with your own things, you want to sleep in your own bed, most of all you want to be around the things that remind you of your mother and father. It's just..." He paused as he felt a catch in the boy's breath.
"I'm sorry, Daniel, you can't stay there alone, you're just too young, so you're going to stay here with us, and Mary and I will take care of you until they find your Grandfather."
"How long do I have to stay here?" The question came so quietly that for an instant Colin wasn't even sure he had heard it.
"I don't know the answer to that, Daniel. I'm sure they are doing everything they can to find him though." As the boy showed signs of pulling away he released him and for several minutes the two sat in silence.
"When they find him, then I can go home?" Daniel avoided looking at his new foster father as he waited for a confirmation that didn't immediately come.
"I don't know, I hope so, Daniel, but it's not up to me. I'll tell you what though, how about if you write a letter to Child Protective Services and tell them what you want, then I'll give it to Mrs. Hastings so she'll know. Would that work for you?" Experience had taught him that too many of the children that came into his care felt helpless as their wishes were rarely considered in regards to what was happening to them. He couldn't promise the boy that anything would come of the letter once it was turned over but at least he would feel that he'd had his say, and that was more then had happened so far.
"Okay..." There was a hesitance in his acceptance of the offer but for the first time since the accident Daniel found a small glimmer of hope in his situation. Nick would come for him, he was sure of it, all they had to do was find him. He couldn't remember where the man was but someone would know, they would call him and he would come on a plane to get him. Daniel's hopes buoyed as he formulated the images in his head of what he was sure would be coming. Wiping the lingering tears from his face he turned to look at the man sitting next to him and for the first time saw him as someone other then the villain he'd wanted him to be.
"Can I write my letter now?" He needed something concrete to hold onto, and the letter was going to be that, it had to be done now, and he could only hope the man would understand.
"I think that's a great idea, Daniel." As he spoke Colin rose and with his final words he extended his hand to the boy. "Why don't we go downstairs and see if we can find a pen and paper and then when you finish we'll get you some dinner." The smile that surfaced as the young man climbed off the bed and took that hand was genuine, it was a beginning...and from here the healing could begin.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Apr 1, 2009 15:46:23 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 12
by JD
To Child Protective Services
My name is Daniel Jackson, I am 8 years old. Yesterday there was an accident at the museum and my Mother and Father died, and today Mrs. Hastings told me I had to stay with Colin and Mary McDowell until they can find my Grandfather. Nobody has asked me what I want, they think I'm too young to know, but Mr. McDowell said I could write this to tell you so I am. I think I am old enough to stay at my own house until my Grandfather is found. My parents used to take me with them when they went on digs so I am good at taking care of myself and I know the rules. I know how to fix my own food and take care of myself so I really don't see why I can't just wait for Nick there. I'm not a little kid like most of those you take care of so you probably don't know these things about me. Now that you do I think it should be okay for Mr. McDowell or the police to take me to my own house to wait for my Grandfather Nick to come and get me.
Daniel Jackson
Daniel studied the letter as he finished it making sure he had said everything he needed to say before folding it and sliding it in the envelope his foster father had provided him with. The crumpled wads of paper scattered around the desktop held bits and pieces of his earliest attempts. This though was the last, and while he wasn't really sure what all he should tell them at least with this he felt nothing had been left out. The dictionary he'd been given with the paper had allowed him to check the spelling of any words he wasn't sure of and all that remained now was for it to be delivered.
"Daniel, do you want me to look at your letter?" Colin McDowell had taken a seat across the room from where the boy had been working and though his curiosity to know what was now in the envelope was high he refrained from demanding to read it.
"I don't think so." After sealing the flap he rose and carried it over to the man. "Will we be able to give it to them today?"
Colin shook his hand as he took possession of the envelope. "Not today, but when Mrs Hastings brings some things for you tomorrow we could give it to her." He rose and carried the envelope over to a bookcase and sat it on one of the highest shelves.
"We'll put it up here so nobody else can reach it and tomorrow when she gets here we'll do that then."
"Okay." Daniel had followed him across the room, watching closely as the precious envelope was propped in one corner of the shelf.. "It won't get lost?"
"No, it'll be safe, no one can reach it but Mary or I and I'll make sure she knows it's to stay there until you can give it to Mrs. Hastings." He resisted the urge to lay his hand on the boy's shoulder as he moved over beside him. "You hungry? You probably haven't eaten anything since lunch, how about we go see what Mary has in the kitchen?"
"I guess that'd be okay." As Colin started for the kitchen Daniel followed and as they neared it he had to admit that the smells coming from it reminded him of just how hungry he was.
"There you are...I wondered how long it'd take you two to smell dinner cooking." Mary's voice greeted them the minute the two entered the room. A small dark haired woman, she had the other boys gathered around the table where all three were busy decorating cookies in preparation of their going into the oven. When Daniel didn't move any farther then the door she walked over and lowered herself to his eye-level.
"I'm Mary...I know you were probably told that but since we haven't met I thought I would introduce myself. Do they call you Dan or Danny?" She remained as she was as she waited for his reply.
"My name is Daniel." He hadn't meant for his answer to come out rude and he could see where someone might say it was. The fact was, only his mother had called him by Danny and he wasn't ready to have that change.
"Then Daniel it is." If Mary was hurt by the tone she didn't show it and instead she rose and walked over to where the other three boys were working. "You met Vernon already." She lay a hand on the shoulder of the small black boy who had tried to coax him from the room earlier before moving to an older version of him. "This is Tevin, Vernon's brother and this..." She went to stand behind the third boy who seemed to be close to his own age. "This is Carl." She leaned down to whisper something in the boy's ear which brought a smile to his face before stepping away again.
When none of the boy's did more then nod Daniel found himself relieved, he didn't really want to talk to anyone and if they felt the same then better for him. Shoving his hands in his pockets he continued to watch from the doorway as Colin entered and took a chair at the table with them.
"Well, Daniel, if you're not going to decorate cookies then I am because it means I get to eat while I do it." He promptly scooped a handful of candy beads from one bowl and popped them in his mouth which sent the other boys into laughter before they imitated him and repeated the act.
"Hey..no eating those, they're supposed to go on the cookies not in you." Mary scolded even as she found herself smiling along with them.
The fact that the whole scene seemed so normal was not lost on the observer, had he not known differently he would have thought they had always been a family, and it was that which began to bother him the most. He didn't want to be part of this family, he wanted to be with his own. The instant the thought surfaced he felt the tears begin to well and without saying a word he turned and bolted from the room. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back where he belonged, but most of all he wanted things to be back the way they had been before the accident.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Apr 7, 2009 15:26:09 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 13
by JD
As he entered his room, Daniel pulled up short, where could he go? The small room left few options for places to hide and after pulling open the closet door and finding it cluttered with boxes and toys he instead dropped to his knees before scooting under the bed. By the time he had pulled himself into the farthest corner his tears were once more flowing freely and he buried his face in the crook of his arm to stifle the sound of his crying.
"Daniel?" It was Mary's voice that called up the stairs to him and after some whispered words he couldn't quite hear, he heard her footsteps start up the stairs.
Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Closing his eyes, he pressed his face deeper into his arm.
"Please don't let her find me." He whispered the words quietly into the new-found darkness.
"Daniel, I know you're up here, won't you please come out and talk to me?" Mary stopped in the doorway, though to his surprise, did not enter.
"All right, if that's the way you want it, I'll leave you alone, but, nothing's going to change, this is your home now." The woman grew silent for a moment, hoping that her words would draw at least a small response from the young boy, when it was soon clear they would not she continued.
"Daniel, this doesn't have to be hard for you, we want you to be part of our family, just like we want the other boys."
"I have my own family." The words were fired off from his hiding place before he could even realize he was speaking and once they had started, he seemed powerless to stop them. All the pain, all of the rage that he had held back rose to the surface and demanded to be heard.
"I don't need yours. You'll see, my Grandpa Nick is coming for me, he'll be here as soon as he hears what happened, you'll see." His words were soon marred by choked breaths, and as his tears forced him to fight for breath between them.
"Daniel, Sweetie, no one ever said your Grandfather wasn't coming for you." Having located his hiding place, Mary McDowell dropped to her knees and reached under the bed.
"Come on out now, please?" Even as she took hold of his arms she waited for him to give his permission, knowing that in this, things had to be done on his terms.
"Daniel, please." She coaxed him once more with a gentle tug and was rewarded with a forward movement from the small boy. As he cleared the bed she pulled him onto her lap and held him as she would have had he been hers from birth, .
"It's all right to cry for them, Daniel, no one's trying to replace your parents, but someone has to take care of you until your grandfather can be found." She tightened her hold on the boy as his grief again found it's voice, rubbing his back in small circles until the sobs lessened and finally ceased. As she realized he'd fallen asleep in her arms she could only smile, and she brushed his bangs back off his face before wiping the wetness from his cheeks. The days and months ahead were not going to be easy ones for him, she knew that, but she also knew that as much as he allowed her to, she would be there for him.
Slowly she got first to her knees, then eased him onto the bed so that she could fully stand before settling him into bed. As she covered him with a blanket and tucked it around him, she found herself whispering a prayer over him, hoping at least for one night to keep his sleep free of the nightmare she knew would haunt him for sometime.
"Claire and Melborn, I know you weren't ready to leave this special boy of yours, but, if you'll watch over him and keep him safe in sleep, I promise you, I'll do the same when he's awake." She touched a hand to his cheek as she finished.
"Angels watch over you, Daniel." Leaning over him she brushed a kiss against his hair before moving away.
"They're your angels, Daniel, and you're so lucky because they'll always be with you.." The words were whispered back to him through the darkness, meant to offer both comfort and protection and for now, that would have to be enough.
To be continued..
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Post by FicWriter on Apr 11, 2009 10:08:34 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 14
by JD
Be careful with that cover-stone!" He heard his father's voice as he guided the placement of the cover stone that would mark the entrance to the museum's new Egyptian exhibit, and as if it were a magnet he found himself drawn to the sound.
"Dad?" Daniel worked his way around displays that at any other time would have held him transfixed, unable to shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Any other time he could find his way from one end of the museum to the other, but not today, today it seemed that everything was backward no matter which way he went trying to reach the place where his parents were working ended up in a dead end.
"Where are you?" The sense of panic in his voice increased as he once again rounded a corner and found only more display cases instead of the tomb his parents were erecting.
"We're busy Daniel, go sit down with your book." In his dream, it was his mother who answered his call and at the sound of her voice he shifted restlessly in his sleep. The feeling worsened, something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.
"But, Mom, I want to watch." Maybe it was hearing her voice, but, he finally found his way to where his parents were working. Stopping just short of the pillars that had already been erected for the new exhibit he tilted his gaze upward, only to find himself captivated by the large stone that was swaying above them.
"You can watch, as long as you stay back there out of the way." His nightmare was becoming all too real for the sleeping boy and Daniel's tears dampened his pillow as the dream played out. He might well have been watching a movie of the day that had changed his life, every detail was so clear, and though he might not know it, his mother's smile before she turned back to help his father was the last he would see from her. As the inevitable conclusion moved closer the boy's restlessness increased as well, and when he finally cried out in his sleep he couldn't help but wake his roommate, Vernon.
It took the older boy a minute to realize that the younger boy was dreaming, but as he saw that Daniel still seemed to be struggling with it, and despite his cries, was still asleep, he pushed his own covers aside and scrambled out of bed.
"Mom...Dad!" He called out for his foster parents as he left the room and once in theirs, he wasted no time in alerting them to Daniel's condition.
"Why don't you lay down in our bed and try to go back to sleep." Colin lay a hand on the older boy's shoulder as he rose, then gave him smile he hoped might reassure him.
"I'm sure he's just having a bad dream, you did the right thing in waking us up." Colin squeezed the boy's shoulder as he continued.
"He'll be all right, I promise." After making sure that Vernon was settled and after checking on the other boys to make sure none of them had woke, Colin joined his wife at Daniel's bedside.
"Shhh, Sweetie, it's just a dream." Mary was holding Daniel, rocking back and forth as she tried to comfort him, knowing even as she did that nothing she said would erase what he had seen, or bring back his parents.
"How's he doing?" Her husband kept his voice low though, from the look of the situation, he doubted it would matter.
"He's gone back to sleep, I'm going to sit with him for a while just to make sure he doesn't wake up again though." As she spoke she continued rubbing Daniel's back.
"We need to find out more about him, I don't like the idea them just dropping him here without us having any idea of what he's been through." Mary's concern reflected clearly in her words.
"When Mrs. Hastings called and asked us if we'd take him, she did say that he'd seen his parents die, we have to expect that he'll have nightmares for a while because of that, I'd worry more if he didn't." As he spoke, Colin moved over to his wife's side.
"We'll call her in the morning and see what else she can tell us, maybe someone else was there and they can give us an idea what the boy saw. I'm sure too that once we get past the funerals and he has that closure that'll help him move on too." As he offered the counsel to his wife, Colin laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I suppose you're right, maybe when he hears from his Grandfather that will help too." Mary eased Daniel back down onto his bed as she finished, convinced that he had returned to the deeper levels of sleep again. Once she had tucked the covers around him she stood and turned to slipped into her husband's waiting arms.
"Thank you." She gave him a kiss before breaking from the mutual hug.
"You're welcome, but, you're the one who deserves the thanks. I think we both knew that taking Daniel was going to be a little harder then when we took the other boys, but, I know we can help him. You're a good mother, Mary, and that's what he needs most right now." As he finished Colin again wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her.
"Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee since I gave our bed away." The man's accompanying laugh succeeded in breaking the dourness that had lingered in the room, and as they made their way downstairs the two were already discussing how best to help their new son move forward from his losses.
To be continued...
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Post by FicWriter on Apr 16, 2009 15:47:12 GMT 10
Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 15
by JD
The days leading up to the funeral for Daniel's parents were difficult, not only for the young boy, but for the couple entrusted with his care. For the most part, Daniel was proving to be an obedient child, he complied with whatever requests were made of him without the usual arguments that Colin and Mary McDowell found often came from their new arrivals. In fact, if the couple were pressed to name the one thing about the eight year old that bothered them most, neither could deny that it was his sullenness, though both knew too that it was likely the way he was dealing with both the anger he felt over his current situation and his inability to do anything about it.
There were many reasons that had led the McDowell's toward their decision to become foster parents, not the least was their love of children and the inabilty to have any of their own. Every child who entered their home was welcomed with the joy that they would have showered a child of their own blood, and if there was one thing above all others that made them feel successful at what they did, it was the sense of family they had achieved with the boys in their care. Or to br more exact, that had been the feel for the house before young Daniel's arrival, for despite his silence on everything else, when it came to talk of being part of the McDowell family the anger that had simmered in him since his parent's death boiled over. Within hours of the accident that claimed Melburn and Claire Jackson's lives, multiple attempts had been made to reach Nicholas Ballard. When he had finally returned the calls, the news he relayed was far from what they would have expected, and it had left them with yet more bad news to heap on the young boy, who had already had too much. In Daniel's eye the only family that existed for him was that which he might have with his Grandfather, and unfortunately it seemed that might never be more than a dream. All either of the McDowell's could do was hope that in time the boy would come to accept the news and until then, well, there was always the hope the man might change his mind.
In the meantime, if Daniel seemed to be reasonably settling into the household during the day, nights were proving to be far more difficult for him and he had yet to make it through one without waking to a nightmare. Neither Colin nor Mary McDowell could fault the young boy for the memories that haunted his sleep. In fact, prior to his arrival. they had been warned about his having seen the accident that had left his parents dead in order to prepare them for that very possibility. Making matters worse was the fact that Daniel had decided that he should have been able to save his parents, the how or why was still unclear as the boy refused to talk about what he had seen, either with his foster parents or the therapist who he'd been advised to see. The issue was not something that would disappear overnight, they knew that from past experience, and all they could do was be there to offer what comfort they could, and hope in time he would trust someone enough to open up.
To be continued...
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