Yours Truly

Chapter 22

"It's very new for her," Owen said as Sean opened the pacifier and cleaned it off. "Her therapist thinks it will help overcome some of the trauma she endured as a child, so we are learning." He looked down at her and gave her a soft smile, "Here we go, Little One."

Sean held out the pacifier and she whimpered while shaking her head. She tightened her grip on Owen's wrist and just barely pulled Owen's thumb out of her mouth, "no no," then went back to sucking on his thumb for comfort.

"Hey now, who's Baba's Little Snuggle Bunny?" he asked curiously. She smiled up at him and he gave her a full smile, "there's my girl, now take the binky so Baba can cuddle his bunny better." She whimpered but let him pull his thumb out slowly. Sean held the pacifier out again then smiled when she took it. "Baba's good girl," Owen praised as she straddled him and laid her head on his chest while clinging to the back of his shirt. She hummed in delight as Owen rubbed her back.

"Here," Sean said as he handed Owen the bunny stuffed animal that was in the box.

"Come on My Little Snuggle Bunny," he said as he slowly stood, and she locked her legs around his waist. "I have you, Little One. Let's go see what Mr. Coleman made you." He headed to his office, and she squealed in excitement seeing the tent in the corner of the office behind his desk. "Look, Baba's pillows and blanket are in there for you already. Go look."

"So glad Gabe insisted on getting two just in case," Luke whispered, and Kota nodded.

She slowly slid down and crawled into the tent. He smiled as she curled up in the tent. "Here we go, Little One," he said pulling up Fantasia on his phone and handed it to her. She giggled and clapped as she started humming to the music. "Stay right here, Bunny, I'm going to go get you some juice." She nodded and beamed as he kissed her nose then stood and took a step back. She wrapped his blanket around her then laid down to watch Mickey start to orchestrate.

Owen left the room and headed to the kitchen. "Here," Marc," said as he handed Owen the bottle that Sean took out of the box.

"Thank you," Owen said as he poured some apple juice in it.

"Baba?" Axel asked.

"Cute," Raven chuckled.

"Yes, it's still very new for her so I am learning about her little side along with her. The first time she slipped involuntarily in front of me, she called me that. When she slipped back into adulthood, she admitted she never used that name before, and she feared it would scare me away. She has repressed a lot from her childhood and needs a tremendous amount of reassurance."

"What the hell did she go through to trigger such a panic attack?" North asked.

"Da, who I kill?" Raven glared.

"Unfortunately, from what I have gathered, they are already dead," Owen shook his head making Raven growl and cross his arms. "Her mother was someone that never wanted children, so she had no attachment to Mia. Her father was in and out of her life. Because of such neglect, Mia did whatever she could to get approval from her parents, became a straight A student, top of her class in medical school, everything and it still wasn't enough to gain their approval. When her father would show up, she would cling to him to get his love and he would push her away. Those words on the show were similar to what her parents would say to her along with physically assaulting her. While in medical school she was in a relationship with a doctor who manipulated her. He gave her the attention she craved but would also ghost her at times so when he would show back up, she would try to cling to him and the words would be repeated. She knew mentally what he was doing but because her past she thought it was how a relationship was supposed to be. It's only here recently with my support that she is learning to heal and her therapist suggested to try no longer repress her slips and allow me to be her caregiver. It has taken some convincing and patience but she is getting better at not repressing it when she needs to let go."

"Fuck," North, Raven, and Nathan muttered.

"Explains why she ran," Silas nodded, "she avoids conflict as much as she can. She even gets sick from stress and anxiety. She just wants acceptance and love but fears she is too much."

"Exactly," Owen nodded. "She may try to run when she slips back, she fears you are mad at her flight response and for hurting me."

"We'll do whatever to show we aren't," Axel nodded. "We understand."

"I need to give her this," he said holding up the bottle.

"What can we do to help?" Luke asked.

Sean smiled, "I've got a few ideas."