Finding Lilibeth

That night Lilibeth had ended up in bed with Gramps, she had woken several times with nightmares and managed to build the courage up to go into Gramps room. He immediately opened his arms for his granddaughter and crawled into his bed snuggling into Gramps chest. Lilibeth immediately relaxed her body feeling safe in Gramps arms. She then slept the rest of the night soundly.

When Julian woke up, Lilibeth was still sound asleep. He had never seen the little girl so relaxed and care free. She looked like an ordinary little girl and he couldn't help but smile. "My little Beth, it's time to wake up sweetheart" Julian softly whispered. Lilibeth began to stir, she was comfortable but someone was calling her out of her sleep. Lilibeth slowly opened her eyes to see Gramps smiling down on her. "Good morning my little Beth. It's time to get up for breakfast. Your social worker will be here soon as will Miss Emma" Gramps told Lili. "Morning Gramps" Lilibeth responded causing Julian's smile to get wider then it already was.

Lilibeth got herself up and needed help to shower, she wanted to wash her hair but didn't want to ask anyone for help. Dj walked into Lili's room checking on his sister and saw her looking into the bathroom. "Good morning Lili, I'm here to help you wash your hair" Dj chirped out. Lilibeth swung around seeing her eldest brother and smiled "it's ok" Lilibeth whispered turning her gaze to the ground. She didn't want to bother anyone. "It's me helping you or Miss Emma. You can get your swimmers on if you prefer. Let me help you" Dj told his sister. Lilibeth looked up at her brother to check he was serious and saw nothing but love and care in his eyes. Lilibeth nodded her head, "can I wear my swimmers?" Lilibeth whispered out softly. "Absolutely" Dj stated going to her bag and pulling out the swimmers for her to change in to. "Let me know if you need help getting them on" Dj added before stepping out of the room.

Lilibeth quickly put her swimmers on and opened the door. "I'm ready" Lilibeth whispered to Dj who was standing beside the door with Zac. Zac held a plastic bag to slip over Lili's cast so it wouldn't get wet. "Lili, let's cover this cast and then Dj will help you shower" Zac told his baby sister. Lili nodded her head while looking at the ground. She wasn't use to people being kind to her. Zac stepped closer to Lilibeth and lifted her chin smiling at his sister and then slipped the bag over her cast tying it at her shoulder to keep as much water out as possible. Dj then took her other hand and lead her into the bathroom to wash her hair.

After her shower Lilibeth dressed herself and headed down to the dining room. Her hair was drenched and she had tried to dry it with a towel but it didn't work. When Julian saw Lilibeth he frowned, he didn't like the fact her hair was drenched at all. Julian grabbed a dry towel then sat at the head of the table. "My little Beth come here please" Julian spoke softly so Lilibeth knew she wasn't in trouble.

Lilibeth walked over to Julian not sure what he was going to do. Julian picked Lilibeth up and placed her on his lap. He took the towel in his hands and wrapped it around her wet hair securing it gently. "There we are. That should dry your hair off a little so you don't catch a cold" Julian whispered before bopping Lilibeth on the nose. Lilibeth blushed and smiled at Gramps, she liked the way he was treating her with kindness. Lilibeth out of instinct lent in and quickly kissed Gramps cheek "thank you" she whispered as well. "My little Beth you are most welcome" Gramps stated with pure happiness.

Lilibeth went to get down from Gramps' lap and sit on a chair for breakfast but Gramps was happy with her on his lap. "You can stay there if you want my little Beth" Gramps whispered into Lilibeth's ear. Lilibeth blushed and nodded her head yes.

Miss Emma walked out of the kitchen with food for everyone and immediately smiled at the sight of Lilibeth sitting on her Gramps knee. "Lilibeth I'm so happy to see you" Miss Emma gushed out. "Miss Emma" Lilibeth squealed. She hadn't seen her since before she ran away from Darren's house. Gramps, Dj, Zac and Miss Emma laughed at Lilibeth's reaction. Lilibeth blushed as she realised everyone was laughing at her. "Sorry" Lilibeth mumbled just incase she got in trouble for making to much noise.

Gramps turned Lilibeth around so he could look her in the eyes. Lilibeth was chastising herself for being so silly. She was sure to get in trouble for making a loud noise but she had been excited to see the one person who was kind to her. "My little Beth never ever be sorry for being excited. This is your house now and you are allowed to make as much noise as you like. You are a child my dear and it's ok to act as such" Julian told the girl. He wanted Lilibeth to be comfortable her and he wanted her to have a normal childhood, she deserved it after all.

Lilibeth smiled at Gramps and nodded her head in understanding. She was still unsure about talking all the time but she was getting better at talking to people one on one. "Now I know you have a very pretty voice and I want you to use it more. I'm sure both Dj and Zac would love to hear more talking from you" Julian added. Lilibeth peaked up at Dj and Zac who were both smiling at Lilibeth. Neither of them had seen Lilibeth show true emotion and were happy she had. They also wanted to hear her speak more.

Both Dj and Zac nodded towards Lilibeth to confirm they wanted her to talk more. "Lili, everything that happened in dads place was wrong. Forget the rules that Beau spat at you and just be you" Zac added causing Lilibeth to smile. "Thank you Zac" Lilibeth whispered. It was the first time that Lilibeth had spoken directly to Zac. Zac smiled at his sister "any time Lili" Zac stated before digging into the breakfast that Miss Emma had put in front of him. Lilibeth began to slowly eat her food while listening to the conversations happening around the table about Dj staying here to go to university rather then returning overseas. Lilibeth was happy with that because she felt safe with Dj just like she felt safe with Gramps.