Open Case File [COMPLETED]

Out of the Ordinary

*Sighs* So it begins.

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Carter unlatched the gate to the playground and stepped inside. The happy screams of children rang in the air. All over the play set little kids ran about, chasing each other with small hands out stretched. The scene was of chaos but one that made Carter smiled.

At the edge of the playground, Carter spotted Mason and Sophia. Mason crouched in front of his daughter. At two-years-old, she barely met his eyes. He spoke to her in a low, even tone. As Carter drew closer, she heard the fluid language of French. She paused, waiting for Mason's instructions to end.

He noticed her and nodded hello then said something to Sophia. The little girl turned her big brown eyes up to Carter.

"Bonjour, Carter," she said calmly.

"Hi, Sophia," Carter said, crouching down. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Sophia said, amazing Carter with how quickly she switched to English without hesitation.

When Mason had told her he planned to only speak French to Sophia while Yvette spoke only Spanish and let the rest of the world speak English to her, Carter hadn't imagined how interesting it would be to hear the girl flip between them.

But Carter appreciated what her parents were doing for her, Sophia would be able to grow up trilingual. Living in DC that would be a great advantage, no matter what career choice she decided to take. She smiled to herself, leave it to Mason plan for his child's future when she hadn't even been born.

Mason said something to Sophia and she took off her jacket, holding it out to him. He took it and said something more. She nodded and set off to the play set. Carter watched her go. She didn't race away as other kids would. In fact, she walked at a leisurely pace to the play set.

"Let's sit," Mason said, gesturing to a bench.

They sat down but neither said anything, watching Sophia. She circled the structure as if deciding which set of stairs was the best to use. When she found the one she liked, she used the hand holds to boost herself up.

"I don't think I've ever seen such a composed kid before," Carter said.

Mason glanced at her and back at where Sophia casually walked around the upper level.

"You haven't?" he asked.

"You have?"

"The only child I have interacted with are Kennedy and Harrison. I figured Kennedy is maniac because of you and Harrison because of Kennedy."

Carter laughed. "They are normal in that way. Most kids run around screaming."

"Ah."

Mason said nothing else and Carter went back to watching Sophia. She stood on one end of the swaying bridge. Kids older than her bounded across, lost balance, caught themselves and kept running. Over and over again kids crossed, all of them stumbling at one point. Sophia didn't seem at all impatient to cross, she simply stood there observing them.

When the bridge was finally clear of kids, Sophia calmly walked in the middle, never once shaking the bridge or losing her balance. Carter stared in wonderment. Sophia hadn't been waiting for an opening but calculating how to cross without falling.

Carter looked at Mason to see a small smile on his face.

This aspect might have shocked Carter but it wasn't the first instance she'd seen that proved Sophia to be different.

Carter had been having lunch at Mason's house the day Sophia learned to walk. But learned wasn't even a word that could be used to describe her. Because all of a sudden, Sophia had pushed herself up to her feet and walked. No tripping, no wobbly, no hesitation.