You're Mine

chapter 78

"Hey!", Amelia greeted Evelyn at the door. She glanced at the shoes and noticed her husband's weren't there anymore. "He's already gone?", she frowned sadly. Her counterpart nodded and embraced her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. As soon as he told me, I tried to talk some sense into him, but it was of no use.", her mother-in-law shared. "No wonder you were crying earlier. But he told me to give this to you.", she said, handing her a letter.

"Thanks.", the brunette sighed, walking into the living room, where the overall mood was not good. Leo and Layla were playing Candyland, Logan read to Luna and Lucas was just sitting there, staring. "Hey, buddy.", she decided to deal with her twin boy first. "Hi, guys.", she also greeted her other children.

"He has been like this ever since he has watched Owen drive away. I am not sure if he understands or not, but something is definitely going on.", the grey-haired woman informed her daughter-in-law. "I'll let Eleanor in for now."

"Come here.", the neurosurgeon told her son, lifting him into her arms. He usually made some happy squeaks when he snuggled into her but right now, he just did so quietly. At least he did want to cuddle with her though, she thought. "Who's winning?", she asked Layla and Leo after giving the other two a kiss but deciding to let them enjoy the book for now.

"Me!", the three-year-old beamed and clapped his hands, watching her sit down next to them while Ellie laid down next to her mama and wanted to get all the pets she could. Her baby was just silently resting in her lap.

"I'm gonna get started on dinner. The kids wanted to have burgers today, so I bought everything, but it takes some time.", Evelyn smiled at the brunette, admiring her for still trying to be a wonderful mom when her stupid son had broken her heart.

"Thank you. Just let me know if you need help.", Amelia replied. "Leo won!", she grinned. "Can I play too?", she asked her kids, causing Logan to join them with Luna, so he could be the fourth player. She was really annoyed by the game by now but figured it was important to spend a lot of time with the children after their father had left.

"Alrighty.", Layla nodded. "Leo is yellow, and I am blue. Logan and Luna can have red, and mom and Lucas are green.", she decided. Since her younger brother and she had already been playing, she decided they should keep their characters and since red was her favorite person's favorite color, he got to be red."

"Hi, I texted you, but you didn't answer, so I figured you were somewhat busy.", Derek talked to his sister as she let him inside after the game. The twins were back in the playpen for now. "I talked to Meredith.", he started, speaking to Amelia in the hallway since that was nothing the children needed to know about. "And I am aware of the fact that you want to get all of this under control by yourself, but you can't do it when it comes to money. Working less means earning less. And we are going to transfer $5,000 to you at the beginning of each month. It's not your usual income, and it won't be enough to replace Owen's, but it is a start. I know you don't totally need it but please take it, Amy."

"I hadn't even thought about that.", the brunette sighed, scared of what else she hadn't thought about yet. "Thank you. This means a lot.", she smiled at her brother and hugged him. Normally she probably would have started a discussion, but she was too tired, and he was most likely right. Without Owen's income and her working less, they would probably have to change their whole lifestyle without the help. "Wanna come in, have a coffee?"

"Sure, why not.", the other neurosurgeon agreed softly. "Hi, everyone!", he greeted the kids, Evelyn, and the dog. "Is Lucas alright?", he wondered. Usually, the boy had tried to wave at him, now he just stared.

"Hello, Uncle Derek!", the three oldest children beamed, after their grandma had greeted him as well. They got up to hug him tightly. "Daddy left today to go to the army for six months.", Layla shared, sounding a little sad.

"I...uh...", their mother slowly started to panic when she looked over at the twins. Luna was happily playing but her brother just stared. "I don't think he is. He's been like that ever since Owen left earlier and he doesn't make noises anymore...I'm scared, Derek.", she admitted, desperate for some help.

"I'm gonna do a neuro exam on him.", the brunette decided, walking over to the playpen to lift the seven-month-old into his arms when he moved away from him and started crying, silently. "Does he let you touch him?"

"Yeah.", his sister started to sniffle. "Evelyn, can you try?", she asked her mother-in-law, who nodded. She had only started cutting everything, so there was no need to pay attention to the food yet.

"Sure.", the grey-haired woman replied, walking towards them. When she tried to touch the boy, he did the same thing he had done with Derek. "Maybe he's just...sad. I mean, he is a daddy's boy."

"I don't think so.", Amelia almost whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. "Well, he probably is but that does not explain why he won't let you touch him anymore and why he is silently crying. He's a baby. Can you call Alex, please?", she begged her brother, who did just that.

"Hi, I came here as soon as I could.", the pediatric surgeon said once his male friend had let him in. By now, the neurosurgeon was sitting on the couch, cradling her son, scared of what was happening to him. "I'm not gonna touch you, little guy, I promise.", he told Lucas. "Tell me everything that is weird about him since Hunt left."

"He's not making any noises. No squeaks, silent crying...he barely interacts with us. Mostly, he just stares, which is somewhat creepy. He doesn't let anyone but me touch him. Derek and Evelyn tried, he backed away. Then Logan did. He is now in his room with his siblings and grandma, crying because he feels guilty and thinks he did something wrong since his brother doesn't seem to like him anymore.", the brunette answered.

"Well, I am not a psychiatrist, but I have seen this kind of reaction before. It is an anxiety disorder called 'selective mutism'. He can make noises and isn't mute, obviously, since you have heard them before. But he has always been a daddy's boy and that person is suddenly gone, which most likely traumatized him to the point that he cannot, even if he wanted to, speak or in his case, since he is so young, make noises. There are cases, in which the children are able to talk at home, when they feel safe. But it's a good start that he lets you hold him at least instead of nobody at all. Give him time to warm up to you and his siblings and everyone. This can take months. Develop strategies to interact with him without overwhelming Lucas. If he chooses to interact with you through gestures, maybe take that up instead of speaking to him too much. Generally, I have never seen this happen with a baby...but all the symptoms seem clear enough to me.", Alex explained.

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a/n: Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder. It is a real thing, one that I believe people should be educated more about. However, if you are interested in the topic, do not use my story as the source of your education. I try to represent it as real as possible but in favor of the fanfiction, I have to make a few modifications. For example, I have been educating myself about selective mutism but never heard of a baby that had the disorder, since it's about children not being able to speak in situations and seven-month-olds usually don't. Also, as any other illness there is, it comes in different ways. Not every kid with selective mutism is acting the same way. Just wanted to put that out there. :)