WOW I finally caught up with this wonderful fic Seriously I know you have many fics but it's the first one I read where you use angst... -_-
I was kinda worried about Beth...well I still am... kinda reminds me my poor Hannah in my own fic
I hope she'll be fine though... please
Thanks and sorry again
Usually I'd go online around my 6pm and the server's kept being busy all the time... sometimes I do have time later again after class, but due to the soccer I couldn't LOL I hope I'm excused....
Even if I'm not surprised by Beth's behaviour it still hurt to see her like that, not talking or being the little girl we saw in the first chapter. I really hope she will get better soon
well i'm glad to see lots of you joined Random Fans - we'll see how that situation goes, hopefully i can find away to get beta'd chapters posted but we'll see
Chapter 8
The next morning, Sydney awoke early to watch her daughter sleep. She was amazed at how peaceful and angelic she looked, and yet at the same time, it broke her heart because she had been through something horrible that had affected her so. It wasn’t much longer before Michael awoke and stared down at his daughter as well. Sydney reached across her stomach and linked hands with him while they watched her.
They watched for a little more than half an hour before Beth woke up, stretched and rolled closer to her mother. “Hey sweetie,” Sydney said softly as she stroked Beth’s hair. “Did you sleep alright?”
Beth said nothing, but she picked at the frayed edge on the neck of Sydney’s t-shirt. Sydney’s eyes darted up towards her husbands and saw that he was looking just as worried as she. Deciding it was best to coax her into talking with a few more questions, Sydney asked, “What do you want to do today, hmm? Mommy and Daddy are staying home from work and we can do anything you want,” Sydney told her. Beth said nothing.
“Sweetie,” Michael spoke softly. Beth rolled over to look at him and he smiled at her. “You want to do something special? We can do whatever you want,” he repeated his wife’s offer. Still, Beth said nothing. Michael sighed, slightly discouraged, but he wasn’t giving up. “How about we go have breakfast first, okay?”
Beth clambered out of bed and raced out the door. Taking that to be a sign that breakfast was a ‘yes’, Michael and Sydney followed her and found her already seated at the kitchen table. Sydney laughed softly, “I guess that means she’s hungry.”
“I guess so. Do you want pancakes or waffles, Sweetie?” he asked his daughter. She just looked up at him. “Okay… how about pancakes?” She said nothing so he took that as a ‘pancakes are okay’ and he began to get out the ingredients.
The whole time they were making breakfast, Sydney and Michael tried to entice their daughter into talking with no avail. They tried every subject they could think off, all the ones that usually had her babbling endlessly, but it was no use; she refused to speak. She managed to eat two large pancakes before sliding off her chair and heading into the family room. Sydney gave Michael a sad glance.
“You go; I’ll clean this up,” he said.
Sydney slid her chair out from the table, got up and walked over to her daughter, who was searching around the couch cushions for something. “What are you looking for, Sweetie?” Sydney asked her. Beth said nothing, but spotted the object she was searching for on a chair across the room. She walked over, picked up the TV remote and carried it back to the couch and held it out to her mother. Sydney took it and put on Nickelodeon for her.
Beth then climbed up into her mother’s lap and Sydney began combing through Beth’s hair with her fingertips. She braided her chocolate brown tresses and then put a clip on the end of it to hold the braid in place. Beth then leaned back against Sydney’s chest and continued to watch Dora, the Explorer.
Just like they had the day before, Sydney and Michael tried to get their daughter to play, talk to them, or at the very least, say one word all day long, but she did none of that. She simply sat around in one of their laps. As the day progress, Sydney grew more and more disheartened. She was glad to have her baby back, but this wasn’t her baby, this was some timid, shy, silent child, not her bubbly Beth.
While Beth was occupied with a movie, Sydney pulled her husband aside and asked in a hushed voice, “Do you think we should stay home with her tomorrow?”
“I don’t know,” Michael sighed as his gaze drifted back towards his daughter. “I think one more day… and then, well, I just don’t know what to do. She really shouldn’t miss much more school but…,” he let his voice drift off.
“How can she go to school if she can’t talk?” Sydney said sadly as her bottom lip began to tremble.
Michael snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. “It’ll be okay,” he said in a soothing voice.
“How can you be so sure?” she sniffed and mumbled into his chest.
“How can I not be?” he laughed softly. “We’re going to be okay… maybe we should sacrifice some parental dignity in order to get her to laugh.”
Sydney lifted her head and looked at him curiously. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Well I was thinking something along the lines of ballet class…”
Sydney burst out laughing. “I haven’t thought bout that in ages.”
“All the more reason to do it,” he smiled.
“Miiiichael,” she whined. “I can’t. I’m old, fat, and out of shape.”
Michael couldn’t help but laugh at her comment. “You are definitely not old or fat and while you might be slightly out of shape, I have full confidence in you.”
“Why don’t you just sing to her?” Sydney suggested.
“Well… that could be a less painful plan,” he smiled.
For over half an hour, Michael sang every song he could think of to get a smile or a laugh from his daughter, but nothing worked. Even Sydney joined in and they harmonized to silly children’s songs, but those didn’t work either. Finally, they gave up and let her watch TV in peace while they tried to formulate another plan to get through to their daughter.
“You think that maybe we could try a therapist?” Michael asked. Sydney looked wary. “I know, I know, I don’t love the idea either, but,” he sighed. “She can’t just not speak to us ever again… and it can’t hurt to try, right?”
“Well… it’s just… last time she started crying,” Sydney said with concern.
“I know, but that was also only a few hours after she was rescued,” he pointed out.
“True,” she sighed. “And it’s obvious she’s not getting better with just us… I guess I’ll call the police and ask if they can recommend someone. I’m sure there’s some type of specialist, or something.”
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“I just want her to be better,” Sydney sighed and covered her face with her hands.
Michael walked over, hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Me too.”
Great update!
I hope Beth start talking soon Syd and Vaughn arereally trying to get her to talk but I think she needs some help with what she's been though. I can't wait for the next update.
Aww poor Beth...I hope the therapist will help her!!!!
-Ha I loved how they tried to sing to her...but I think they both should've tried the ballet!!!
Great update!! Loved it!!
I think all of us want Beth to be betta again and I know that she will be... A therapist is a good idea He's better to give a good insight about what happens inside Beth, plus it's not only good for Beth but also the entire family -_-
BTW, did I mention how much I like the name Beth? it fits so well with this story I don't know why, but it is :lol:
Seriously I know you have many fics but it's the first one I read where you use angst... -_- 
