Once Abandoned, Now Found

Chapter 3

Though Alex sleeping, still swaddled in Danni's raincoat, was indeed an adorable sight, the women reasoned that it would be better to wake her now and have consent for a bath.

"Hey baby" Maggie cooed softly, Danni slowly bouncing Alex to wake her up.

"No" Alex muttered, gripping onto Danni's shirt to try and stop the bouncing. It continued anyway, which quickly brought an onset of tears from the small girl.

"Oh darling, we must be so mean huh?"

Alex nodded in response, still clutching Danni's shirt in one hand.

"Alex, we'd really like you to have a bath and get clean, but you need to be awake for that, do you understand?" It was Danni's turn to try and convince Alex to wake up.

"No baf" was the small reply.

"If you have a bath there's a tasty hot chocolate waiting" Maggie reasoned, falling back onto a previous promise with Alex.There was a small huff before Alex finally opened her eyes and stared at the two women.

"Yes baf" the girl decided. Danni finally had her shirt back, though Alex stayed in her arms while they walked upstairs to the bathroom.

"Do you think you can clean yourself?" Maggie asked. At the same time, she began filling the bathtub, checking it regularly so it wouldn't be too hot.

No verbal answer was given, but Alex's tired eyes and dependency on Danni to keep her upright was answer enough. Maggie still wanted verbal consent for one of them to bath her, she wasn't about to traumatise the girl anymore.

"Alex, can I clean you in the bath?" It took asking a couple of times before Alex was awake enough to answer, though finally she let out a little "'es".

With her girlfriend's help, she quickly undressed the girl and carefully lowered Alex into the bath, though not before checking the temperature of the water again. A content sigh was heard from Alex as she relaxed into the warm water, her weak and tired body still unable to keep her upright. Danni held the girl under her armpits, supporting her neck as well so that she stayed sat up, while Maggie collected a flannel, baby soap, shampoo, and conditioner. As Maggie washed Alex's body, she kept a mental tally of the scars and bruises that appeared, noting especially the boot or fist shape of some of them. She was able to stop herself from saying anything aloud, though she did hiss a few times.

Alex was in a half-asleep state, fully content to feel warm and safe for once in her life. She had a vague idea of what the women looked like, but between the storm, falling asleep, and the bath, it was all hazy. So rather than focus on the negative, Alex focused on the warmth of the water, the scent of the soap, and the feeling of fingers massaging shampoo into her head, letting all of this help push her that little bit closer to sleep.

It took a while before Maggie and Danni decided that Alex was clean enough: 3 bathtubs plus a sink before the water was only running clear. Alex didn't utter a word, though the small smile on her face and her relaxed nature showed the women that she felt safe, and maybe even happy. Alex was not so happy to get out of the bath, crying as the source of comfort was removed.

"Oh baby, it's just not fair is it?" Danni cooed, wrapping the girl up in a warm fluffy towel with a hood. The girl just shook her head. Alex was completely unprepared to go from the bath to a fluffy towel, and her cries quickly subsided as she felt the warmth radiating from the towel, plus the rocking Danni was doing as she carried her to a bedroom.

"Alex darling, how old are you?" Maggie was stood next to a wardrobe, having spent several minutes already trying to decide what to give the girl to wear.

"I 'oo, bu' no alloweded" Alex said truthfully, trying not to let her fears get the better of her.

"Wow, so you're a really big girl then huh?" Danni dried Alex off, making funny noises as the towel moved about. Alex nodded happily at that statement, giggling as Danni continued to make noises for her.

"Would you like to wear protection to bed baby?" Another nod plus a small finger pointing to dinosaur-themed nighttime diapers told Maggie all she needed to know.

Soon Alex was dressed ready for bed, in an outfit that would make even the coldest person smile. It was clear by the waddling and the extra padding that Alex was wearing a diaper, but it was the footed dinosaur onesie with the hood that really took it to the next level. Plus Danni and Alex stomping around "roaring" together so they sounded like dinosaurs.

"Okay, my two dinosaurs, dinner and then bed" Maggie couldn't help but laugh as Danni swooped Alex off her feet and held her close. They had barely known the girl for two hours, but the bond that was developing was strong, and it felt like they had known each other forever.

They all ate toast for dinner, Alex somehow smearing butter all over her cheeks and nose, (how she got it on her ear was a mystery to all); then they sat on the sofa and Alex finally got her promised hot chocolate.

"T'ank 'ou", Alex had remembered her manners at every point, still afraid that the women were going to turn on her and send her back into the storm.She took a sip from the red sippy cup and then turned to the two women in shock.
"No nasty!" Alex exclaimed, pointing at the drink excitedly. "No nasty!"

"Yes baby, no nasty, only tasty" Danni grinned, enjoying the little's excitement over a hot chocolate with vanilla flavouring.

"Tasty" Alex mumbled to herself, continuing to drink the chocolate. Maggie and Danni couldn't stop themselves from smiling at the little, enjoying the small signs of excitement: the wiggling on the seat, kicking her legs, grinning to herself. It was everything they missed about having a little.

"Alright kiddo, it's bedtime now...no, no pouting baby!" While Danni had assumed that getting the very tired little to bed would be easy, it turned out that the puppy-dog eyes Alex could create were something else. With her head turned away she was able to pick up the still pouting girl, resting Alex on her hip and saying soothing words to her to prevent tears.

After being carried upstairs Alex was laid to bed in the spare room, tucked in tightly by Maggie before both women said goodnight. Maggie and Danni went straight to bed themselves, still trying to process their day. Their last words to each other for the night were, "I don't know if I can give Alex up" and, "neither do I".

As predicted, the storm raged all night, but a few moments of particularly harsh thunder was enough to wake and then scare the small girl. Alex whimpered in fright, finding no comfort from hiding underneath the duvet, or the bed. Tears began again, but the lack of baby monitor meant the women in the next room couldn't hear her, and this frightened Alex even more. After a few more minutes of cacophony, Alex decided that she had to seek out a known source of comfort: Maggie and Danni. Carefully, the little climbed out of bed and waddled into the next room, spying the two women fast asleep on their bed. Without a second thought, Alex scrambled onto their bed, walked down the gap between them, and got under the covers.

On instinct both women turned towards the baby, Maggie collecting the still sobbing Alex in her arms while Danni made small circles on her back. There was no indication of whether the women were asleep or awake, but in whatever state they were, they were able to lull Alex back to sleep.

The storm continued to rage outside, but in that bedroom, there were no noises, only the small sounds of breathing and covers moving. The three were sleeping peacefully.

A/N: This will be the final chapter uploaded until next week, unless I get really bored or stressed, in which case a chapter will probably come out early.

I appreciate anyone who reads this, as I said before this is the first story I've published on here, so any amount of reads makes me happy.

Have a good week!