Counting To Fifteen [Grey's Anatomy]

P A R T I | chapter one - beginnings

THE BEGINNING
detailing beginning stages, loss, & comfort

Daisy was well aware that she was unwanted the moment she walked into Mark Sloan's apartment.

She was used to being unwanted, of course. But not so quickly. She wasn't used to being disliked right off the get-go.

"What are our magic words?" Their social worker Octavia asked, scrambling to cram a last-minute etiquette lesson in before they were to meet their new foster father.

Before Daisy could answer that their universal magic words were "please" and "thank you", Daisy's ridiculous six-year-old little sister beat her to the punch.

"Can we have ice cream?" Calypso flashed a huge dimpled grin at Octavia, the thirty-some-year-old woman frowning with distaste.

"Those are not your magic words." Octavia groaned. She opened her mouth as if to say something, and then quickly stopped as she reached out to wipe a dark smudge off of Calypso's cheek. "Is this dirt on your face?"

"Mhm." Calypso nodded, pulling out a huge clump of dirt from her back pocket as well as one very crumpled up, very dead flower. "Mr. Sloan's garden has tulips!"

Daisy was so sure that Octavia would faint on the spot. And...rightfully so. This had to have been one of the most luxurious apartment complexes in all of Seattle, Daisy had never seen a place so nice. She and her little sister looked like something the tide dragged in, they most definitely didn't belong in such a place.

Octavia turned to Daisy instead of scolding the six-year-old. "You need to keep her in check, okay?"

Daisy nodded, not sure why the woman felt the need to remind her. Keeping Calypso in check was all that Daisy did. Even though she was only twelve, she had to have the mindset of an adult. She was practically the girl's mother, after all, she had been for years now.

Octavia took a deep breath as the three girls arrived in front of a large oak door at the end of the hallway.

Considering Octavia was only dropping them off, Daisy didn't understand why she was so nervous. They would be the ones living with the man. Octavia wasn't the one that had to figure out the hard way whether the man named Mark Sloan was the good or bad guy. That job was reserved for Daisy and Calypso.

Octavia knocked three times on the heavy wooden door, and it made Daisy feel odd, like someone was knocking on the walls of her heart.

"Please don't screw this one up." Octavia mumbled, and Daisy wasn't sure if Octavia was referring to herself or if she was referring to the two sisters.

Daisy and Calypso had failed every foster home they'd been placed in so far, meaning that Octavia had also failed, considering she was their social worker. Daisy knew how badly Octavia wanted this one to work out, but Daisy just wanted to be done already. She didn't love meeting new people, and the gravity of this situation feels a bit different considering what happened during their last placement with the Walter family.

Daisy blinked hard, trying to quickly push the dark memories away.

Yet before she could even really process her thoughts, the largely intimidating oak door swung open.

Based on observation, Mark Sloan was the opposite of Mr. and Mrs. Walter in every way possible.

The Walters just looked dirty at first glance. They were short and stocky, and they had the coldest eyes. Their lips were always set in permanent scowls, and they looked to be in their sixties when in reality they were twenty years younger.