Carina POV
At hearing the phrase social services, Elva instantly hid her face in my chest. I rubbed my hand up and down her back in an attempt to offer some comfort.
"They want to speak to Elva first," said Arizona seriously.
"Alone," she added.
Elva shook her head against me.
"With you mama," she cried.
"I'm sorry bambina," I sighed, moving my hand to her head.
"Please," she begged.
I looked helplessly between Amelia and Arizona.
"Can someone else be with her? Someone who's not Carina or Maya?" Amelia asked.
Arizona shrugged her shoulders.
"I'll go check," she said, turning and leaving the gallery.
"Elva?" Amelia said gently.
"If they say it's alright, is it okay if I come with you?" She asked, giving Elva some control over the situation which was very important.
"Mama close?" She asked, lifting her head up off of me.
"I'll be right outside and I'm going to call Maya bambina," I assured her.
Arizona came straight back to tell us it was alright for Amelia to stay with Elva.
"Come on bella, let's go be brave," I said, standing and lifting her onto my hip.
"Like mommy," she smiled weakly.
"Just like her bella," I said, kissing the side of her head.
We reached the meeting room and I placed her down on the ground. She reluctantly took hold of Amelia's hand and entered the room.
The second the door closed, I leant back against the wall and ran my hands through my hair.
"It will be fine Carina," Arizona said.
"What if they think it's Maya and I? What if they don't believe her?" I said, full of panic.
"Carina, I've told them what Elva told me. She'll tell them the same thing and they will sort it," she explained.
"Will they though? Jane doesn't sort things. Jane let's that little girl in there get hurt time and time again," I shouted.
"Ring Maya. Go calm down, go and breathe," she said.
"I said I'd be here," I sighed.
"You are here! Now go ring Maya," she ordered.
I nodded and walked down the corridor. I took my phone out and dialled Maya's number.
"Hey how's it going?" She said, answering the phone.
"Ciao bellina, I've got some updates," I began.
"How is she? Is her arm alright?" She asked.
"It's not broken, but it's a bad sprain. And her back is fine, just incredibly bruised," I explained.
"And social services?"
"They're here," I told her.
"I'm on my way,"
She hung up.
I felt relieved that she was soon going to be here, we worked best as a team.
I also smiled at how much she'd changed, instantly walking out of work to join us here.
I headed back towards the meeting room and leant against the nurses station just staring at the door. I don't know how long I was stood there but the next thing I knew, Maya was by my side.
"Hey," she breathed out.
"Ahh bellina hi," I sighed, pulling her into my arms.
"Have you heard anything?" She asked after I released her.
"Nothing since they went in there," I said.
"Is she on her own?"
"No, Amelia's in with her," I assured.
We both looked up towards the door when we heard it open.
We made our way over and Elva spotted us.
"Mommy!" She shouted, seeing Maya and running straight towards her.
"Hi bubba," Maya smiled, scooping her up.
She held her in her arms and we turned our attention to the social worker.
"I'll catch you guys later," Amelia said.
"Yes of course, thank you so much," I said gratefully.
"Anytime," she smiled, giving me a discreet nod. This gave me some hope.
"I think we should have a chat," the social worker said awkwardly.
We entered the room and sat down around the table. The last time we were in this room, we were sat begging Jane to let us foster Elva. Now, we were sat about to beg someone to let us adopt her.
Maya POV
I sat down and didn't even bother trying to get Elva to sit in her own chair. I kept her with me on my lap.
While the social worker was sorting through some files, I turned my attention to Elva.
"How's your arm bubba?" I asked.
"It hurts but mama said it's not broken," she told me.
"That's good isn't it," I said enthusiastically.
"I saw my bones on the picture," she said excitedly.
"And mama taught me about the X-ray machine,"
"That's so cool Elvie, you'll have to tell me all about later," I smiled.
She nodded and settled against me.
The social worker made a coughing noise.
"I'm Daniel, I'm the team leader for the team in charge of Elva's case," he said, introducing himself.
Carina and I introduced ourselves before he continued.
"I've spoken to Dr Robbins and Elva has reiterated the incident to me. I can assure you that we are taking this further and Jane and the potential adoptive family are going to be under investigation," he explained.
I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders.
"What happens now?" I asked.
"I'm going to recommend that yourself and Dr DeLuca are the right fit for adoption of Elva. After I process that paperwork, there'll be a little wait but you'll then receive a court date. After that everything should be finalised,"
I looked up at Carina, who had tears in her eyes. I reached out and took hold of her hand.
"Thank you," was all I could say.
"Thank you," I repeated genuinely.
"You hear that Elvie? You're gonna stay with us. With mommy and mama," I said to her happily.
"No more Jane?" She said, tilting her head in confusion.
"No more Jane bambina," Carina tearfully smiled.
She smiled like a Cheshire Cat and hugged me tightly.
"If you could just sign here," Daniel asked.
"Of course," I nodded.
We filled out some forms, we had to give details of a few more references and availability for court dates.
Daniel packed away his things and shorty left. We thanked him for his time and turned our attention back to Elva.
"How do you feel bella?" Carina asked.
"Happy," she smiled.
"Mommy you're not at work," she pointed out.
"No I'm not am I, I wanted to come and be with you," I explained.
"Going back?" She asked.
I looked at the clock. I still had 5 hours of my shift left.
"I have to sweetheart but I'll be home with you as soon as I can. You still need to decide what treat you want and I think you deserve an extra one for being brave today," I told her.
"Sleepover in your room?" She asked.
"You can have that and a bigger treat bubba. You keep thinking," I smiled, holding her close and kissing her head.
"How are you feeling?" I asked Carina.
"I'm on top of the world," she grinned.
"Me too," I sighed contentedly.
"You have to go mommy?" Elva asked, lifting her head off my chest.
"I think I can manage five more minutes," I winked, pulling her closer.
Authors note.
Hope you're happy Jane has gone!!!
I've also posted the first chapter of my new story while this was the 50th chapter here!
It's on my profile and it's called:
Under Her Wing