Adopted by Dan and Phil (editing in process)

6

CLARA'S POV:

I stepped out of the car and walked with my hand in Phil's towards their flat.

I didn't get out much when I was at the orphanage, except when Emmi took me to the shopping Center, but that's pretty much my knowledge of the outside world.

Dan was smiling and babbling about everything as we passed it: "That's the stretch of grass where all the dogs poop," "that's where we get our mail..."
All of what he was saying I didn't catch, because he kept turning around to watch where he was going so I couldn't see his mouth.

I actually let a laugh slip out when he crashed into a wall as he walked backwards telling me about the neighbor upstairs who didn't appreciate it when they played UnderTale at 2:00 in the morning.

Both Dan and Phil looked at me when I laughed and I quickly covered my mouth.
"Oh, it's ok, you've just been so quiet, I forgot you could make noise."
I smiled shyly.

Finally we got to their door and I followed Phil into their flat.
Phil made the sign for welcome- it needed work- but the thought was sweet.
It was a weird sensation walking into a room you've seen hundreds of times in videos, and I couldn't stop smiling.
I was in Dan and Phil's house.

They took me to my room, just a small corner of Dan's bedroom separated by a 'My Neighbor Totoro' blanket hanging on hooks from the ceiling.
They had set up a small cot bed and a nightstand with a small light.

I hugged both of them.
"Thank you." I said softly. I was very self-conscious of my voice. Isabelle made it pretty clear that I sound like a parrot with a sore throat, and ever since then I didn't talk to anyone but Emmi.
"You're welcome!" Phil said.

That night, we ordered pizza and as we ate, watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It was hilarious and after we watched E.T.

It was only 10:30, so Dan flipped through channels and we ended up watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians, although we were mostly making fun of their horrible first-world problems.

I wasn't that tired from my nap before, but I could tell it had been a long day for my new foster parents, so I just kept watching TV as they nodded off.

Finally, at 12:37, I decided to go to bed too, I carefully took the remote from Dan's limp hand, and turned off the soap opera that was about to start.

Should I wake them up or let them sleep on the couch? I thought to myself.

I decided to let them keep sleeping, so I slowly and quietly tiptoed to my makeshift room. I changed out of my clothes and put on a huge t-shirt that I kept for pajamas.

It wasn't long after I put my head on the pillow that I was in a deep sleep.

...

I woke up suddenly.  It was still dark. The clock read 3:04am. I tried to remember my nightmare, but it was already fading into the depths of my mind. I hadn't had a nightmare in three weeks! I thought they were gone, but I assume the change from the orphanage to here stirred something awake.
I lay back down and started slowing my breath, and went back into a dreamless sleep until morning.

>•<

PHIL'S POV:

I woke up to the smell of pancakes and the sound of Dan laughing his head off.

I was on the couch in the lounge, I must have fallen asleep when we were watching television last night.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Dan and Clara attempting to make pancakes in the shape of aliens.

"Good morning." Clara signed and mouthed.
"Good morning." I replied with the same gesture.

Grumpy Phil is not a thing on pancake mornings!

"What are we doing today?" I asked Dan as we ate the pancakes.

"I was thinking we could take Clara to the shopping mall and see if she would like to get anything as a welcome home gift."

Clara's eyes widened and she smiled. She was so adorable in her excitement, it was horrible to think about her spending ten years in an orphanage!

"I love that idea! Let me get dressed." I said. All tiredness gone by the happiness on Clara's face.

                          ...

When we got to the shopping mall, I immediately nudged Dan when I saw the Apple Store.

I knew Clara didn't have a phone, and since she wasn't at school, I figured it would be a good way for her to make friends.

Dan smiled at me in understanding. He took Clara's hand and guided her to the store.
She shook her head no, but when she saw the new phones on display it turned into a polite shake. But we wouldn't take anything but yes for an answer.
We told her to pick out a color- she chose gold- and then we consulted with the employee before buying it.

Clara held it like her heart depended on it and didn't take it out of the box until we were sitting down at an empty table.
We helped her set up an email account and a Twitter. We made sure to be the first to follow her.

After a lot more shopping we exited the stores with a new comforter, a phone case, and her own towel.
All in all it was a fun day, but it made me want to learn sign language even more.
It was sad how I couldn't communicate with Clara in a way to make it easier for her.
On the way home I addressed my thoughts to Dan.

"So, I've signed us up for a sign language tutoring class and we should practice everyday, and Clara can help us."
"Ok, Phil. Calm down. I agree, it will help all of us." Dan said laughing.                         

          >•<

It was 9:00 when Clara went into her bed and fell asleep, and Dan and I went to our rooms as well. I scrolled through Twitter and Tumblr until I nodded off.