Stolen Lullaby

First Meetings

"I was probably was too hard on her, I'll go apologize to her." Steve sighed standing up to go up to Sophie's room. He really did love Sophie but it was hard to reconnect with her since she seemed so incredibly hostile to them when all they were trying to do was bring her back into the loving home she started with them. It was tough because she was such a loving little girl until Taylor and Joe inserted themselves into their lives.

"Sophie honey can I talk to you for a minute?" He called out with his hand on the door handle of her room. There was no response to his question which he probably should have expected since she was giving them the silent treatment after all. Regardless he pushed the door open to try and speak with her anyway.

"Sophie, did you hear me?" She wasn't in her bed or playing in with her toys in the corner. Sighing again he knelt down to check under the bed, still finding nothing.

"Hey Carol!" He called downstairs.

"Yeah?" Carol called back from the living room.

"Did you see Sophie go downstairs anytime after dinner?" Steve started checking all of the rooms upstairs including the bathroom cabinets in case she was hiding somewhere. Dread started sinking in when he went back to her bedroom and realized her overnight bag was gone along with her coat.

"Dammit, I think she might have run away while we were watching TV." Steve told Carol as he jogged back downstairs.

"You're joking?!" Carol rapidly got up to conduct her own search of every single space in the downstairs of their house while calling out her name. "What are we going to do, we have to phone the police!" She cried out frantically reaching for her phone.

"No we can't do that! If we call the police they are going to alert the Alywns then we'll never be able to get the judge to give us custody back!" Steve said a slight panic edge in his voice as he took the phone away.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Just let her roam alone and hope she comes back?!" Carol was stunned that he was trying to be strategic at a time like this.

"We'll go and try and find her ourselves, she's five there's only so far she could have gone."

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It was getting dark but Sophie still walked on thinking she would see someone that would be able to give her directions to where the hospital where Taylor was staying. In her head she went over conversations she had with her parents and grandparents about being a brave girl and keeping her chin up, determined to make all of them proud by find her way back to them. The last rays of the afternoon sun vanished bathing everything in the evening darkness. Sophie had been walking for nearly two hours and was beginning to get tired, her bravery starting to wane with the loss of daylight yet still she soldiered on until she saw bright lights up a head. Seeing hope up ahead her pace quickened toward the sound and sight of shops and sounds of activity. There were people around but they didn't look so friendly, most didn't even glance her way. Suddenly she remembered she was hungry... since refusing to eat dinner at the Collins her stomach was rumbling. Passing by a pizza shop the smell was enough to make her stop for a moment and peek in through the glass.

"Mike... there's a kid standing outside." The waitress nodded in Sophie's direction at the window after noticing her standing there for about ten mintues.

"You're kidding? and she ain't got no parents with her."

"Doesn't look like it."

"Hey kid, where are you parents?" Mike went outside to see if Sophie was lost or needed some help. Sophie was a bit startled but stuck to the speech she had in her head.