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New challenge (Part 10)

Hannah sat in the waiting room with Alex. She'd grabbed a magazine but the girl didn't dare to move, even though the room was littered with fun toys.
Hannah softly nudged her side, and patted her own leg. Alex quickly clambered on her lap, hiding her face in Hannah's neck.
"It's going to be fine sweetie," Hannah whispered, "I'll take you for ice cream afterwards, okay?"
Alex nodded slowly but she didn't move from her hiding spot.
"Miss Hart?" The receptionist called into the room, "Doctor Hannigan will see you now."
"Come on Alex," Hannah smiled, easily lifting her up on her hip, "You need to eat more, too light." Hannah mumbled to herself.
They were lead to the psychiatrist's office. Hannah smiled, it didn't look like a shrink's office at all, the walls were brightly colored, and covered in children's paintings.
"Goodmorning," An older woman extended her hand, "I am Christine Hannigan, you can call me Christine."
"Goodmorning," Hannah smiled and politely shook the woman's hand, "I'm Hannah, and this is Alessandra."
"Goodmorning Alessandra," Christine smiled, but Alex kept her face firmly hidden in Hannah's neck.
"I think I can see why you're here today," Christine said with a soft smile, "Why don't you sit down, and we can have a conversation."
Hannah sat down on the offered seat, "Alex don't you wanna sit next to me?" she suggested, "So you can see Christine when she talks to you?" Alex didn't loosen her grip on Hannah and remained on her lap, her back toward the other woman.
"It's fine," Christine smiled, "This experience can be a bit overwhelming for children. I mostly focus my first session on the parents, I would like to know why you are here? What made you think Alessandra needs therapy?"
"Oh, well, she's shy," Hannah started, feeling a bit uncomfortable talking about Alex as if she weren't in the room, "Extremely shy, she doesn't like to talk to people."
Christine nodded, "Does she talk to you?"
"If she has to." Hannah said.
"Okay," the woman took note, "Does she have a speech impairment? A stutter? Or a bad knowledge of the language?"
Hannah felt Alex cringe in her lap, "No, she doesn't even mispronounce words, she's very smart. She's just nervous, a lot."
"Can I ask you a question Alessandra?" Christine asked, "You don't have to answer or turn around, just clap once for yes, and twice for no, is that okay?"
Alex softly clapped once.
"Great," Christine encouraged, "Do people make you nervous?"
The girl clapped one time.
"Are you afraid of other people?"
Alex clapped again.
"You clap really softly," Christine noticed, "Do sounds annoy you?"
One clap.
"Alessandra, do people sometimes yell at you?"
Hannah watched astonished as Alex clapped again. She'd never expected Alex to be so forthcoming.
"Do they tell you to be quiet?" Christine asked.
The girl nodded sadly, forgetting the clap.
"Did they hurt you Alessandra?"
Alex went rigid.
Hannah slowly rubbed her back, trying to relax her, "It's okay sweetie, everything is fine." She whispered.
"I think I asked you enough questions," Christine said calmly, "Hannah do you want to tell me more about Alessandra?"
"Eh, she has nightmares, really bad ones," Hannah said, "And she doesn't like cuddles or touches, only when she asks for them. Like, if I reach out to her without her knowing, she'll cringe."
"Okay," Christine wrote down some more, "Can you tell me a bit about her background? You're obviously not related, where did she grow up?"
Hannah told her everything she knew about Alessandra, which wasn't a lot.
"Good, I think we've had a good first session," Christine smiled, "What do you think Alessandra? Would you like me to help you?"
Alex looked at Hannah for the first time since they entered the room. Hannah smiled encouragingly.
"I think it's important, but it's your choice Alessandra." Hannah said.
Alex pouted, but slowly nodded her head.
"I'm so proud of you." Hannah whispered.
***
"My friends want to meet you," Hannah said during dinner.
"You met Grace already, but Mamrie, Tyler, Chester, Flula and Sarah want to see you too," Hannah said, reaching over to wipe Alex's mouth.
"Maybe we can throw a party for them?" She suggested, "Invite them all at once, get it over with?"
Alex nodded.
"Great! I'll call them tonight!"
***
Alessandra wore a new dress for the occasion and Hannah had spent an hour trying to braid the girls hair. In the end it looked adorable, and Hannah told her she was the prettiest girl in the world.
Grace arrived first in a decidedly un-Grace-like fashion.
"Hey Hannah, you look good," Grace hugged her, "I know you said not to bring anything but I have a little present for Alex."
"That's sweet," Hannah smiled, "Alex, come here for a minute sweetie!"
Alex came over, but shyly hid behind Hannah's legs.
"Grace has a present for you," Hannah smiled.
Grace gave the present to Alex, "I just hope you like it..."
Alex unwrapped it, revealing a stuffed My Little Pony. The girl smiled brightly at Grace before running off to introduce her new toy to the rest of her stuffed animals.
"She loves it," Hannah said, "Thanks Grace."
"You said that she watches the show." Grace admitted.
Hannah laughed, "All the time! The first time she was here she didn't even come near the TV and now all I hear is 'Friendship is magic'!"
The rest of the group arrived and everyone had bought a little gift for Alex. It reminded Hannah of all the reasons why she loved these people.
Hannah was afraid that Alex would get scared with so many people around, but Mamrie brought Beanz and Alex was too busy trying to play with the tiny dog to notice the attention.
"Alex, be careful." Hannah warned.
She heard Tyler snicker, "What?" Hannah asked.
"Nothing," He squeaked, "You're just such a mom."
Before she could reply, Hannah felt a tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Alex hold up her sippy cup.
"Apple juice?" Hannah asked, the girl nodded. Hannah quickly refilled the cup and handed it back to Alex.
"No running with your cup, okay?"
She turned back to her friends who were all staring at her.
"What?"
Grace smiled softly, "You're an amazing mom Hannah."
***
Mamrie and Grace stuck around to help her clean up. Alex had fallen asleep on the couch.
They were doing dishes and joking around when they heard a loud scream and a crash.
The women sprinted to the living room, "Alex?!"
The girl had fallen off the couch during her nightmare, and knocked over the picture frame on the coffee table. The glass had shattered completely, leaving Alex lying in the broken glass.
"Stay still for a second honey," Hannah warned, quickly putting her slippers on before getting the girl away from the shards.
"Are you hurt?" Hannah asked, checking for cuts or scrapes. After being satisfied that Alex hadn't hurt herself, she sent her to the kitchen.
"Can you go sit with Mamrie and Grace while I clean this up?"
Alex pouted, but followed Grace and Mamrie to the kitchen anyway.
Hannah grabbed a broom and got to work.
When Alex got to the kitchen, the girl burst into tears. She was so scared that Hannah would be mad, or think she was stupid for breaking the frame.
"Oh no no, don't cry," Grace soothed, "Things break, don't worry."
"Sweetheart, no one's mad at you." Mamrie added, hoping to calm the girl down.
The girl kept sobbing though.
Grace panicked, not knowing what else to do she grabbed a plate and dropped it on the ground, making it shatter across the kitchenfloor.
The loud crash, startled Alex so much that she stopped crying.
Everyone stood still, just staring at the broken plate on the floor.
"What happened?" Hannah asked, coming to the kitchen.
"I dropped a plate," Grace grimaced, "I'm sorry."
Hannah shrugged casualy, "It's fine dude, I don't care about a plate. Did you hurt yourself?" Grace shook her head, "Great! You're cleaning it up yourself though."
Grace winked at Alex, and the girl smiled softly.
"Come on Alex," Hannah nudged her, completely oblivious, "Time for bed."