(not proofread)
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It's been nearly a week since Gabi had taken into foster care by Luke and Sierra. She was adjusting, okay.. to say the least. It was a little difficult, sure, but she was managing.
Luke had graciously taken a few days off from the hospital to help Gabi adjust to the change. Since Gabi's parents were able to post bail and be released from the custody of the police, they had decided that it wasn't safe right now for Gabi to return to her parents to get her belongings.
So instead, Luke happily volunteered to take Gabi out to all the necessary stores.
They went to Target for clothing and some bedroom essentials, they also went to Ikea for any furniture that Gabi would like. She already had a bed, nightstand, and dresser since she had taken over one of the guest bedrooms in the home.
The last store they visited was the Apple Store, to which Gabi had protested greatly that she did not need anything, yet Luke still insisted.
Today was the last day of Luke's days off and the day before Gabi would start school again. Her teachers were all quite accepting and understanding of her situation and allowed her to catch up on her assignments at home.
"I don't think you're doing that right," Gabi laughed to Luke, who was currently building her small bookcase, seemingly and surprisingly struggling.
"Sure I am. I'm following the pictures on the instructions."
"It's upside down," she laughed again.
"Huh?" Luke looked at the instructions and sure enough, he was following the picture upside down. "Damn it. I thought I was doing this right. I'm much better at medicine," he laughed.
Gabi smiled and sat down on the floor to assist Luke. "I think we're gonna have to take it apart and redo it," she laughed and grabbed a spare screwdriver to assist Luke in taking the shelf apart.
"Hey, so Sierra and I did some talking.. and we think you may be able to benefit from talking to Calum."
"Calum? He's your friend, right?
"Yes," Luke answered. "He's my friend, and he also works as a pediatrician at the hospital."
"That's a kid doctor, right? Why would I need to speak to him?"
"Well, he also has additional training in psychology."
"So you want me to talk to a shrink?"
"Well, no, you don't have to," Luke sighed. "The decision is completely up to you. Sierra and I just thought you might like someone to speak to, that's not us, regarding everything that happened."
"Yeah, but wouldn't he just tell you anyway?"
"Well, not exactly. There's this thing called doctor-patient confidentiality, which is a law that Calum, or any doctor, can not share the information you tell him in private with anyone else."
"So he can't tell you guys anything that I tell him?"
"Nope," Luke shook his head. "Well, there are a couple of exceptions to it, like if you were harming yourself or intend to, then we'd definitely have to know about it."
"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about that," Gabi smiled innocently.
"That's good to hear," Luke smiled back at her. "I still believe you may benefit from at least talking to Calum. It could help you with trauma. You don't have to answer today. It's just something to think about."
Gabi nodded, just staying silent yet continuing to help Luke fix the bookcase.
Therapy wasn't something she has thought about during all of this. Sure, she believed that Luke was right about how speaking about what she endured may help her, yet the idea of spewing everything to a stranger made her uncomfortable.
Thankfully, Luke didn't bring up the topic anymore, and the two were able to finish the bookcase. Well, just after Gabi laughed at Luke for building it wrong again.
