Trimming the tree part 3
Francine nodded realizing that Emma was about to open up to her rather surprisingly, she moved around so she could look the child in the face. She moved round so she was facing Emma, and moved some of the exercise equipment and toys out of the way. Emma stared straight back her blue eyes and intense locked on Francine’s, there was a deep pain yet a deep understanding in them and Francine could not help but react. She gently reached out and touched Emma cheek, she was surprised by the fact there was a tear moistening her cheek. She gently brushed the tear away and smiled warmly and moving closer to Emma enveloped her in a hug. Emma responded stiffly at first, more used to any contact leading to harm rather than to love.

Is Francine felt Emma’s body relax sure reacted by pulling her closer, and behaving like a parent gently brushed Emma’s hair out of her face. Emma seemed to shudder and smile, with careful and slow and painful movements she wrapped her small arms around Francine’s neck and buried her head in Francine’s shoulder. Slowly the small frame with racked with sobs, the force of them almost shaking the child’s body with their intensity. This concerned Francine the injuries were still relatively new to Emma the uncontrolled movements that affected the healing limbs and to the slowly healing bones.
Now the story continues....

Emma could see the confusion on the women’s face and her smile became larger and with a look of impish fun placed her thumb in her mouth and let little Emma peek out. Francine was shocked when she saw the sudden changes in her patient and saw the toddler from yesterday peek out. This caused Francine to smile and Emma replied in return with one of her sunrise smiles and triggered the protective response from the adult.

“Okay Emma now I know you can understand me we need to work on getting your body back under control.” Francine started.

“Miss Francine I can understand the need but I don’t think my body is quite likely to want to join in the games.” Emma responded

Francine nodded and smiled and pointed to the first of the toys and placed Emma’s hands on the keys and explained that she wanted the keys pressed to create a light sequence. Emma followed the lights but there also seemed to be problems with her coordination and she made a few mistakes getting a low tune from the toy. Then she matched the sequence and was rewarded by a happy tune and Emma giggled and laughed. The laugh was infectious and then Sylvie and Derek entered the room they were greeted by that sound of joy.

Emma looked up and saw Sylvie and if possible her grin became bigger and she tried to shuffle her diapered rear across the floor. Sylvie saw this and rushed forwards to scoop up her temporary child and cuddled her close. Emma wrapped her small arms around the adult’s neck and snuggled in her face lit by joy. Derek could see his employers smile return as she placed the child back on the floor and went with her into the kitchen. Once she had closed the door and rested against it and leaned her head into her hands. Derek was worried that the care and heart that Sylvie was putting into this child if she didn’t stay would tear her apart.

Sylvie got herself under control and looked at her closest friend and employee and smiled wanly, she reached out one of her work beaten hands and gently caressed his face. With a gentle smile she kisses his cheek as she composed herself, Derek was a little taken aback by as Sylvie was not to known for being open with her emotions.

“I’ll be okay my friend I can see the worry in your eyes.” Sylvie told him.

“Just don’t overdo it, I know you’re my boss but you are more like a little sister to me.” Derek replied

Back in the lounge Francine could see that Emma was working hard to try and get her limbs back under control and they had actually been working for about an hour. In fact Emma was starting to sweat a little and the thick diaper she was in was also showing some distress. Francine without thinking gently pushed Emma to the floor and started to rectify that one problem. When she had undone the tapes the mess that faced her almost made her lose her composure. Just at that point Derek walked in and for the first time came across the ravages that the accident had left behind. He seemed to go a little green and rushed out of the door into the fresh air.

A few hours later when Francine had finished with Emma the new family were sat in the kitchen and Sylvie looked at her foster child and was smiling. Emma was bringing joy back into her life and a lot of the darkness from her heart was being lifted. The door was knocked and Sylvie remembered she had employed Fiona March as Emma’s nanny. Emma shrank back into herself on hearing the door going and wondered who it was going to be and prayed it was not her former brother that had somehow tracked her down. She tried to strain to hear what and who it was but was distracted by the itch that had started under her cast.

Fiona stood at the door her case at her feet and was taken aback at how relaxed her former and now again present employer seemed even with caring for a special needs child. In her experience most carers seemed to be at their wits end a lot of the time. She smiled and then followed into the kitchen and her grin became larger when she saw Emma sat at the table. Before she could sit down Emma yawned it almost splitting her face, Fiona with a gentle smile lifted Emma from her seat and carried her following Sylvie to Emma’s room. Fiona was still under the impression that in some way her new charge was restarted and she could see the hospital cot was a logical idea. She took in the rest of the room and smiled at the amount of toys.

“Miss could you put me on my bed please?” Emma asked her limbs aching slightly.

Fiona was slightly taken aback as she looked again at this waif like girl; she placed the small body on the cot and stepped back. She saw the intelligence there and she wondered if this was some sick perverted game her new employer was engaged in after the death of her natural daughter. Emma could see a judgemental look cross the woman’s face and ignoring her pain moved back on the cot. Sylvie also saw this and she wondered if she had made the right decision. Emma could see her foster mothers panic also and she decided that she would have to take steps to ease it slightly. She looked up at the new comer and smiled that disarming smile and she could see the woman relax slightly.

“Mom can you let me and Miss?.... talk alone for a little while?” Emma asked.

“Are you sure Emma?” Sylvie was worried especially after all the small body and mind had gone through.

“Yes Mom I think she needs to know a little bit more about me, I mean I wasn’t really myself yesterday” Emma replied with a gentle laugh.

Again Sylvie was taken aback by Emma’s maturity but also her innocence with what she had put up with in her life. Emma motioned to Fiona and she was a seat herself in the rocking chair next to the hospital cot, and to her surprise Fiona found herself doing so. Sylvie smiled when she saw this and respecting her new charges independence and left the room.

Emma looked at this new woman in her life and tilting her head laid the index finger of her right hand against her lips. Taking a deep breath both to calm herself and to also signify that she was going to start looked straight at. With a firm voice showing no signs of hesitation or panic started to talk about her life and how she had ended up in the care of Sylvie. When she saw that Fiona disbelieved a lot of the story she without any sign of self-consciousness and also what seemed to be a lack of modesty slipped herself out of the blouse that she was wearing and lifted the juvenile vest over her head. Once she had done this she painfully shuffled herself around so her back was facing Fiona and she heard the older woman gasp.

Fiona could feel herself becoming physically sick when she saw the damage that had been done to the small frame on the bed that naked in front of her. She looked and tried to count the scars that crisscrossed the flesh facing her. She stood up and reached a gentle finger to touch the ravages that faced her, there were old scars, bruising and some wounds that showed they were only a month or so old. Emma felt the gentle touch against her back and was surprised when Fiona placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Child what you have described to me is the closest thing to hell that had been my misfortune to hear." Fiona said the small tears rolled down her face.

"Miss," Emma swallowed, "to some hell is just a concept since my mother died hell to me has been reality"

Sylvie had promised herself to try and not to eavesdrop on the conversation, but there was a lot of information she needed about Emma's former life that the child had not given her. She listened to the narrative and her heart started to break, the emotionless way Emma had told Fiona about what she had suffered was close to being too much for her to take. When she heard Emma's last comment she couldn't help herself and opening the door stepped to the bed and folded the child into a warm embrace.

The three of them settled to talk about lighter subjects, and to Sylvie's amazement Fiona seemed to become another person almost a teenager. Her voice and actions matched Emma's in the wake she was animated about clothes and other things that would appeal to a teenage girl. Emma was looking confused as she did not feel herself as a teenage girl as there was still the toddler inside of her. To defuse the situation slightly Sylvie gently laid Emma down and she could see that a diaper change was needed. Emma relaxed as one of the problems of her daily life was gently taken care of with no pomp and circumstance.

To be continued in part 4