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twelve

TW: mentions of abuse, PTSD, suicide, and murder

Twelve

The first two nights with Kemper were great. Today their family was going shopping for clothes, which was a lot harder than they expected. Kemper was underweight and they didn't realize that till they were shopping two to three sizes down from where she would be. Obviously the two were concerned about that, but they were going to let Calum give them suggestions when they went to her appointment in a couple of days. They got her tons of clothes and tons of toys so she would be more entertained than she had been for the past couple of days.

While Sierra was putting away Kemper's clothes, Luke was downstairs playing some games with her after cleaning up lunch, "Good job, Kemp," Luke complimented when he saw start to figure out the lego sets. She continued to work until she got to a part that was too difficult for her, and Luke realized she was getting frustrated. "Do you want some help?" Luke asked and she nodded. "Why don't we try putting it here?" Luke pointed to a different area. Kemper nodded and did his suggestion which worked.

"I can't do it, you're better than me," she mumbled.

"You can do it," Luke encouraged her, "these are hard and take time," he explained, but she was still discouraged, "also remember, I'm a lot older than you, that's why it's a little bit easier for me. You're doing great, don't give up," he said. Kemper sighed, but nodded and continued to push through. She eventually finished the lego set, with a little more help from Luke, but smiled proudly when it was all done.

"What did you make?" Sierra asked as she came downstairs.

"The Beauty and The Beast Castle," Kemper grinned happily. "Luke helped,"

"You did all the work though," Luke said and Kemper smiled happily.

"You did such a good job, princess," Sierra smiled. "Do you want to put it on a shelf?" she asked and Kemper nodded. Luke picked up the castle and brought it over to the shelf, then let Kemper add the characters and set it up how she wanted it. "That is beautiful," Sierra told her as she helped her down.

"Michael, Calum, and Ashton were wanting to come and check on you," Luke said, "would you be ok with that?"

"Yeah," Kemper nodded with a smile as Sierra held her.

"Would you want them to come together or separately?" Luke asked.

"Together," Kemper answered and Luke nodded. "Are Kaykay and Crystal coming too?"

"Do you want them to?"

"Yes,"

"Ok, I'll invite them too," Luke told her and Kemper smiled.

That evening the three ate dinner outside with Petunia. Kemper ate quickly so she could throw the ball to her. Luke and Sierra were grateful that Kemper was a lot more comfortable now. Obviously it wasn't perfect, but she was getting there and they couldn't be more proud of her. The rest of the night they spent time together, then it was time for Kemper to get ready for bed.

"Kemper, you gotta take a bath tonight," Sierra told the seven year old. They had tried to get her to take a bath since she got here, but Kemper refused.

"No bath," Kemper shook her head.

"Honey, we've postponed it too much," Sierra sighed, "you gotta take one now,"

"No," Kemper shook her head quickly, "no it's going to hurt,"

"It won't," Sierra promised her. "It'll be quick, then you can go to bed," Kemper continued to shake her head as she backed away from Sierra and pushed herself into the corner sobbing.

"No," Kemper screamed, which caught Sierra off guard. "You're going to hurt me," Luke rushed in when he heard Kemper yelling, but that didn't help the situation at all. "Go away,"

"Luke, I don't think she wants you here," Sierra noticed her sobbing increase when Luke entered. "I'll tell you when she's more calm," Though Luke wanted to help, he knew that he was only going to make it worse, so he left and waited outside. "Kemper, why don't you want to take a bath?"

"Cause I'm going to get hurt," Kemper sobbed.

"No one is going to hurt you," Sierra reassured her. "We're just going to wash you and then you'll get out," Sierra promised, but Kemper still wasn't having it. "Kemper, would you get hurt when you had to take a bath?" Sierra asked and Kemper nodded. "Who would hurt you?"

"Glenn," she whispered.

"He's not here and he'll never be near you," Sierra told her. "I'm just going to give you a quick bath, that's it," Sierra promised her. "We can keep the bathroom door open and your bedroom door so if you feel scared you can leave and take a break," Kemper nodded, seeing she wasn't going to win this argument. Kemper went over to Sierra and hugged her tightly, which Sierra held her close for a minute.

"I don't want Luke to be there," Kemper said and Sierra nodded.

"That's ok," Sierra said. The two let go of their hug and Sierra finally got to give Kemper a quick bath, being careful around her bruises and cuts, especially with the stitches. After ten minutes, she finished Kemper's bath and helped her out of the bathtub, then wrapped her in a white blanket.

"You did so good, baby," Sierra complimented her happily. Kemper giggled happily and Sierra helped dry her off. She helped Kemper change into a nightgown, then carried her downstairs while holding her hairbrush. Luke was downstairs and smiled when he saw Kemper.

"Hey princess," Luke smiled.

"Hi Luke," Kemper said shyly.

"Do you want some ice cream?" Luke asked, "Since you were so brave," Kemper nodded happily, so Luke got the ice cream out and got three servings for everyone to celebrate. Then the three went up for the bed and for the first night since Kemper was there, she had her first nightmare. She had woken up screaming, and then sobbing into her hands. Luke and Sierra immediately woke up and rushed into her room to comfort her. "We're right here, Kemper," Luke promised her as he held her tightly.

"He was gonna hurt me," Kemper sobbed.

"Glenn isn't going to hurt you," Sierra promised her, but Kemper shook her head.

"Not Glenn, dad," Kemper hiccupped.

"Your biological dad?" Luke questioned and she nodded.

"He hurt mom, he killed her then himself," Kemper cried. They hadn't heard about her past, just about the foster homes she was in.

"I'm so sorry, Kemper," Sierra apologized. "No one will ever hurt you again, we're going to protect you and help you through this," she promised her. Kemper started to calm down more and leaned her head against Luke's chest.

"Here princess," Luke handed her the blanket Ashton got her.

"Thank you daddy," Kemper muttered as she brought the blanket up to her lips. Luke looked over at Sierra, both having smiles on their faces.

"You're welcome princess," Luke kissed the top of her head.

"Can you guys stay with me?" Kemper asked and they nodded.

"Of course," Luke said. "Do you want to stay in our room?" Luke asked and Kemper nodded.

"I want mommy to carry me," Kemper looked over at Sierra. Sierra smiled happily and took Kemper from Luke.

"I'll always carry you," Sierra said, making Kemper giggle. The three went back to their room with Luke carrying her unicorn and blanket while Sierra carried Kemper. The three laid back down with Kemper in between them, starting to drift back to sleep.

"We love you Kemper," Luke whispered.

"Love you too," Kemper mumbled tiredly, then soon started to fall asleep.