Love & Care

Chapter 16

We got to the hospital where they brought Alex and got out of the car. I carried Maya inside to the reception table.
"Hey uhm we're here to ask about Alexandra Anderson and get her sisters checked out." I told the lady behind the counter.
She nodded and entered something in her system.
"There no news about Miss Anderson she's still being checked out but with the current information it doesn't seem like she has to get surgery or something. Can you tell me the girls names?"
I sighed in relief. Not having surgery sounded good.
"This little girl is Maya" I said while looking at the four year old. "I'm Layla." Layla answered before me.
The woman nodded and entered their names in the system before telling us to wait in th waiting room for a bit.
We sat down Layla was between me and Selena and Maya on my lap. Maya seemed tired and she put her head against me putting her thumb in her mouth before closing her eyes.
"Princess you need to stay awake a bit longer. You need to get checked out by the doctor." She nodded but didn't open her eyes.
Luckily we were called up next, before she could fall asleep.
We entered an examination room and I sat Maya down on the table. She was about to lay down and curl up when the doctor came in.
It was a woman in her late fourties. She smiled at us before looking at Maya.
"Well hello there. Can I take a look at your face?" She sat down on a chair and looked at Maya, who looked at me.
I sat down and lifted her on my lap. The doctor smiled at me and than focused on Maya.
"Let's get your nose all cleaned up." She started to carefully clean the nose before taking a look at it.  "It doesn't look broken." She said with a smile at Maya.
"I'll give you something for the bruise so it won't hurt that much. Do you have any other owies?" Maya looked at her scared but Layla answered. "Our father punched her on Monday in the stomach."
The doctor nodded and looked at Maya who started to curl up against me.
I looked down "Princess can we take a look at your tummy?" She shook her head scared. "Nobody will hurt you. We want to look at your owies so we can make them stop hurt." She looked scared and her thumb went back into her mouth.
"Wan' Lex." She mumbled. "Baby Alex is with a doctor as well. She's got quite a lot of owies and the doctor is helping her. But you'll see her soon." I explained to her. "Can we look at your tummy now?" She still looked scared but nodded.
The doctor pulled her shirt up and we could see some bruises on her stomach. But thr color indicated that they were healing quite well.
"Okay I'll give you an ointment for this as well." The woman said after careful not do scare Maya felt along her bruises to look if she felt internal damage.
I nodded while pulling Maya's shirt down. "Thank you." The doctor smiled and entered something into her laptop, before I got up carrying Maya to the chairs where Layla and Selena where sitting.
Layla got up and limped to the table.
"I want to take a look at that leg to." The doctor said after looking at her cheek and her stomach. Layla nodded and undressed herself. Her right leg was covered in bruises. No wonder that it hurt. Her ankle was swollen.
"Can I X-Ray the ankle?" The doctor asked looking up.
"I don't know. Where not the girls legal guardians so we can't decide and there's noone from CPS here yet." Selena answered. The doctor nodded. "Okay then we'll wait." He brought us back to the waiting room and while waiting for either news on Alex or someone from CPS Maya fell asleep on my lap. Layla was leaning against my side also almost asleep, when a blonde woman in her mid twenties. Her hair was in a bun and she was wearing a stripped pullover.
"I'm looking for Alexandra Mae, Layla Allison and Maya Hope Anderson." Layla sat up and smiled at her.
"I'm Layla and this is Maya." She said while pointing on the sleeping girl.
The lady nodded. "My name's Ms. Richards. I work for the Child Protection Services." Selena and I exchanged a glance.
"Can you tell me where Alexandra is?" "Alex is still being checked by the doctors. She's been trough quite a lot." Layla explained. The woman nodded.
"Alright. I wasn't able to find any relatives but I'm going to ask anyway do you have any close relatives you could stay with?" Layla shook her head. "No. Our grandparents are all dead and our parents both don't have any siblings." The woman sighed.
"I'll try to figure something out to keep you together but just know that there's a high chance that people will want to adopt Maya but not the two of you. So be prepared that you might be separated." Ms. Richards got up and started to call some people in the hallway.
"We're being separated?" Layla whispered. "We can't be separated." She looked scared and one of her hands grabbed Maya's dress.
Her eyes started to water and tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Baby it's okay. We'll figure something out." Selena said while pulling her in for a hug to comfort her.
After Layla calmed down I looked at her.
"Can you take Maya for a bit? Selena and I will talk to Ms. Richards." She nodded and took Maya in her arms before pulling her closer.
Selena and I got up, while walking out I looked back at the two of them smiling.
The blonde was standing in the hallway. Some of her hair strands had fallen from her bun and she was talking to someone on the phone.
We walked over to her. She hang up and sighed.
"I can't find any placements that want to take all three of them. I found some that would take Maya and Layla together but not Alexandra." I shook my head. "That would break her." "But I don't have other options." Selena and I exchanged a glance. "We could take them in." The woman looked taken aback. "Are you even registered as foster parents?" We shook her head. "But I'm sure in such an emergency we can get this done fast. We have space in our house. We know the girls and we have enough money to ensure a good education, enough food and health insurance." Selena said.
Miss Richards seemed unsure, but then Maya came out of the waiting room, she was rubbing her eyes.
"Tay? Where are you?" I turned to her and picked her up. "Hey princess. Did you have a nice nap." She nodded and clung to me.
"Don't leave me again you're so warm. Don't wanna be cold." She mumbled sleepily. I smiled at her cuteness. "Come on why don't you go back to sleep. It was a long day and little princesses should get enough beauty sleep." I gave her kiss on her hair and she mumbled something incoherent before falling asleep again.
Miss Richards smiled. "I'll give my boss a call to rush you're lisence but we need a printer so you can file everything. I'll talk to the woman at the counter." She smiled and was about to walk away. "Uhm wait one more thing. The doctor wanted to x-ray Laylas foot. But weren't the legal guardians so we couldn't decide. She needs your signature to do it." The woman nodded. "I'll sign it with the woman at the reception desk." We nodded and went back to Layla, who was asleep now.
No wonder Maya could run around the hospital if Layla had been awake she would've hold her back.
Selena pulled her in to make her feel more comfortable while I put Maya on my lap again.
Almost half an hour later Miss Richards came back. The doctor from before walking behind her.
"I'd could x-ray her foot now." The doctor said. Selena nodded and slowly shook Layla awake.
"And I have all the papers we need. I need you both to fill them out." Selena got up with Layla. "I'll go with Layla to her x-ray, I'll fill them out after. Thank you so much." The woman nodded smiling and the two left the room.
She handed me the papers on a clipboard and pen.
I filled the ten pages out and handed them back to her. She smiled.
Shortly after Selena and Layla came back. Layla had a bandage around her foot. "And?" "It bended and is overstretched now." Layla said and plopped down at her chair while Selena got her exemplar of the ten pages and started filling them out.
"What is she doing?" Layla asked next to me. "Uhm were trying to rush our forms to be possible foster parents so that we can get custody over three of you." Her eyes went big. "You want us to live with you?" I nodded and smiled.
"All three of us?" "Of course. All three of you." She teared up and I opened one of my arms so she could cuddle into me, still with Maya on my lap.
"All done." Miss Richards said. "I'll send them over with your request of custody over the three girls. My boss said he'd wait to get them so he'll finish them today. So you should be able to take them home with you in a few hours. I'll come over to check your living situation tomorrow but as its an emergency."
"Thank you so much." Selena said. "Yes. Thank you for helping us with this."
The woman smiled and went out.
"I'll go find out if there are news of Alex." Selena said. We nodded but both of the girls stayed curled up in my arms. "I'd come to but I turned into a human pillow."
She left to find a doctor.
"Do you think Lexi will be okay?" I heard Layla said. "Yes. They said she won't need surgery. I think she'll need stitches and a lot of rest but I'm now doctor." Layla nodded.
We sat in silence until Selena came in.
"They brought her to an room we can go visit her." Layla immediately jumped up and started to walk to the door.
I followed. "Don't worry the CPS lady knows we are going to her."
We walked to fh email room Alex stayed and hurt some screaming. We opened the door to see Alex screaming and yelling at her doctor to let her see her sisters.
"Lexi." As soon as she heard Laylas voice she stopped yelling and looked at us.
"You're alright." Her voice sounded hoarse. Her face started to relax.
"Yeah we are." Layla walked into the room and sat down next to her sister.
"Miss Anderson. I must recommend that you don't talk and yell as much. You're throat has experienced quite some damage. It'll heal but you need to rest it for the next few days." Alex rolled her eyes but nodded.
"I'll leave you alone now." The doctor left the room and I set Maya down on the empty bed next to Alex.
Selena said down on of the chairs and I sat on the other one.
"What's going to happen to us now? We don't have relatives and I won't let them split us up." She looked at us.
"No sunshine you won't be split up." Selena said.
"Sunshine we filed for custody over the three of you." Alex's face looked shocked.
"You want us? All three of us?" We nodded and she teared up. "Thank you so much."
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1987 words.