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Chapter Text

2016
July 18
In the evening

The Philadelphia Zoo

With a squeak, the entrance gates of the Philadelphia zoo opened on this Tuesday night and Dennis pulled the big green garbage bin to the roadside with a disgusted expression on his face.

He did not want to think about, how many other people touched this germs with their hands. How well Dennis had the yellow cleaning cloth, as always - of course he had gone over it with the fabric before touching the handle - but it did not make the fact any better - that he was reluctant to pull that green barrel to the side of the road.

The task had been given him by the shift leader - he was the last employee in the zoo today and was closing the gates afterwards, before Dennis would make his way to the well-deserved closing time.

In the green bin next to the remains of some animals were - even the remains of the food that went to the inhabitants of the zoo and it was important that the ton would be on the roadside tonight - otherwise the garbage collection would not take her and Dennis would Tomorrow I'll hear a few negative words from his shift manager and possibly also from his boss.

The man with the steel blue eyes and the black glasses on his nose wanted to avoid such a situation at all costs - as well as an entry in his service record - it would be a stain and would make his good, accurate and tidy work look bad. For having worked in the zoo for ten years and being known as a good employee - Dennis did not like most of the work, but it was still very important that he and the others do the job to pay for the new clothes, food to be able to buy and to have an activity.

"I have to put this cloth in the washing machine immediately afterwards this shit", Dennis murmured after putting the green bin in the appropriate place on the roadside and wiping the handle with the yellow cloth once more, driving it over the bar of the entrance gate which he would have to touch - to be able to pull them and then complete.

After Dennis had made sure that the entrance gates were also correct and closed, he put the key and the yellow cloth in his jacket pocket and made his way to his apartment.

It was not the best - but it was close to the zoo, had his own separate entrance and was - very tall. They all felt comfortable in it and no one bothered them - there they could be who they wanted to be.

****

He walked slowly away from the gates and made his way to THE apartment. As Dennis walked along the Street, he heard the roar of one of the tigers in the distance. He liked these animals, they were strong, they could kill quickly and they had incredibly impressive teeth.

A faint whimper, which certainly would not have come from the tiger, made the man pause and he looked around in surprise. For a moment he had suspected an injured lonely little dog, but when he looked at the big zoo wall a few hundred yards from the zoo entrance gates, Dennis did not want to believe his eyes.

Because in the faint glow of the next best street lamp, which gave a some light, Dennis could see a little girl sitting, pressed herself close to the zoo wall and this little girl seemed very scared. His first thought was to go further - what did a little girl have to do with his free thime? , surely it had just gotten lost or had run away from his parents - but the other personalities were now listening when the whimpering sounded again and Dennis decided to speak with the little girl.

"Are you lost?"

It took some seconds, before he stood in front of the girl who wore old, torn clothes, had chest-long dark blond hair and green eyes - when she noticed the stranger, she shook her head and looked shyly at the floor around her.

Dennis wondered,  if it would be good to call the police so that the girl - who would not be more than three years old - would go to child care - but then he spotted a letter lying on the floor next to the little girl. With a glove that Dennis always wore in his jacket pocket for safety reasons, he reached for the envelope, tore it open and read through the lines.

Whoever finds this girl , may like to keep it.

She has nothing we would approve of her - avoid eye contact, is shy and does not have the temperament of her siblings - we no longer have any use for her - she does not fit up to our expectations and somebody else should - deal with this ungrateful child.

It's named Lacey Olivia

Dennis looked away from the lines of the letter, to the small, scared girl and the fact that she had just been abandoned here.

After a brief discussion with the others - Patricia had made it very clear , that it was a must - not to leave the little girl here - Dennis decided to take the little blonde to their home.

"You don´t have to be scared - we're going to our house now - there we'll take care of you"

Dennis watched as the toddler looked at him uncertainly and gave him a careful nod. Dennis told the little girl he was about to take care of her - and they're going home now - it was a shame you just put a little girl out in the evening here - something inside  told Dennis, that the toddler maybe become something special to him - something that allowed her to trust him - but he would find this out later - what exactly it is.

Chapter Text

Cold

The letter, with the ugly expressions, was in Dennis jacket pocket and he looked critically down - the little girl was walking beside him and had obviously problems to take the steps without wavering.

After Dennis had unlocked the gate that would lead him to his apartment, he had been standing by the end of the stone steps for a few minutes and the every  long second, reminded Dennis that he desperately wanted the cloth to hold the green bin pushed to the side of the road - had to put in the washing machine - but if the little girl would not go a little faster soon, Dennis patience would be near the end.

Finally, she went down the last step and Dennis opened the door, which would lead to the corridors of the underground room.

"You must - wear something else - the condition of your clothes is unacceptable"

Dennis had just noticed the horrible condition - the girl's clothes were torn, had holes and seemed neglected.

"I'll have to give you some of Jades clothes", Dennis added after a few seconds, ignoring Jade's protest - he did not dare to touch her damned clothes. Jade had nothing to report and certainly not when Dennis was in the light.

***

"Stay here and don´t touch anything"

They had arrived at the apartment and Dennis was now in the living room with the three-year-old,  he ordered her to stay at the spot there ,  while he would go to Jade's room , to get one of the clothes. To Dennis's surprise, the little blonde shook her head and did not seem to agree with his clear statement.

"Stop shaking your head - and wait here!" Dennis said with an angry tone in his voice, that caused Lacey to back down and then nod, shyly avert her gaze, and no more protesting gestures came from her.

Dennis did not care about the behavior and left the living room to go to Jade's room.

"Damn Jade!", The eyeglass  wearing man cursed loudly, as he entered the room and would love to go back immediately. The teenage girl's room looked  horrible  - dirty-clothes, CD cases and biscuit wraps and beer cans scattered all over the place.

"Jade can do that herself - think about the poor little girl Dennis"

An annoyed groan escaped Dennis as Patricia spoke up in his head - what would the toddler, as intimidated as it looked and reacted, already do? Still, he did not like the idea of having Jade do cleaning her room-the teenager was irritable, bad-tempered, and rarely did what she was not asked to do.

Dennis found it hard enough sometime to slow down by someone like Hedwig - Jade was not any better - how glad he would be to free her room from that garbage - but Patricia was right.

He respected most of the opinions of the charming, well-mannered woman - even though he still could not really understand what the others liked so much - to bring an abandoned three-year-old in their home.

"Then convince Jade , that her room condition is horrible"

Dennis said that as he made his way to the closet, opened the door and knew exactly that Jade had a nightgown there - in pink.

"Jade has such a wonderful taste - what a beautiful color - and Dennis please, it would be good if you did not have such a coldness towards her, she seems scared enough"

Dennis did not reply to the comment, which came again from Patricia and left the room of Jade after a few seconds again. It was not the cold he radiated - it was the presence he needed to represent - it was the strength he radiated - the strength Kevin so desperately needed. He would not listen to the instructions just because Patricia asked him - that was a wish too much and Dennis just hoped that this little girl would not make an unnecessary mess - or a pollution that would be inappropriate.

***

When the eyeglass wearer entered the living room again; he saw the little girl still standing in the same place and when Lacey had noticed that he had come back, she shyly raised her head.

"You can wear this for today - you put your dirty clothes in the basket next to the door"

With these words Dennis gave the three-year-old the pink nightgown and looked into questioning green children's eyes. Also from the others came protesting words, that he could not expect from a toddler, to change withouth any help.

***

Ten minutes later, the toddler lay on the couch in his living room, wearing the nightgown of Jade, which was quite a few sizes too big for her - but it would keep her warm. Dennis did not have to help her much, because she managed to slip out of the top of her torn clothes without any further problems. Dennis had to reluctantly help with the pants and the nightgown had been pulled over in a matter of seconds.

"We'll look after you tomorrow", Dennis said after putting some blankets down to the couch and looking down at the three-year-old, who looked very tired.

Dennis left the light in the room on  and then left the living room. He ignored the coments from the others, that he had been incredibly cold towards the blonde .  He was suspicious of whether it would be a right and a good decision - but there must have been a reason why the others persuaded him , not to left her alone  before the walls of the zoo. That's something Dennis would think about another time - because someone else was asking for the light.
Jade.
And Dennis gave it to her, then sat down in his chair.

"What the Fuck - I loved that nightgown, Dude", Jade muttered as  she standing in the living room, noting that Dennis had really put the nightgown out of her room.

"This guy really should not have children - how can he forget to cover you - poor girl"

Jade had noticed that Dennis had actually forgotten to cover the three-year-old wiht one of the blankets, who was now asleep on the couch.

"You look so cute in there," Jade said after covering Lacey and looking at the sleeping girl for a moment.

"And Dennis will have to buy me a new nightown- and so he will not forget it, I will now take a video diary entry and take my fucked up insulin syringes", said Jade to himself, then put out the lights in the living room, and then left the living room.

Chapter Text

The little red light glow , as Jade started the computer's video camera and she could start with her very personal video diary entry - and that's exactly what Jade did.

"Hi - It´s me again and today something really cool happened - no not so uncool as the time - this Girl, who wanted to steal my favorite nail polish during the last shopping tour - yes Barry, I know exactly that it don´t fit with my T-Shirt, the nail polish  -  but that's not the point, now shut up and let me make my video diary entry!

Now from nail polish-  to a more intriguing subject - Dennis found a little girl outside the zoo this evening and we - the better, prettier - smarter ones - voted for , it's better to take this girl home - Dennis really should not put any children in this world, the old man has forgotten to cover this little thing - not even stupid Hedwig would be, or Mr.Pritchard - I'm curious for my part how it will be and - ah there is there anything else I want to get rid of?

If you go back to my room and complain about my mess Dennis - then you may like it- I'm a teenager, do you seriously believe me it does not itch age - you do not have the fucking problems with diabetes - do not have to be stupid Take syringes, so shut up your mouth - being a teenager with a disease is not funny"

Jade looked at the red light on the screen, the small dot had almost a mesmerizing effect and she finally decided to finish the diary entry with a curt smile - pressed the pause button on the video and then saved it. She switched off the computer - although she still had time enough to surf the internet a little, but there was still the wonderful insulin shots that had to be taken.
"That fucks off - no one else needs that, just me - explain that please Dr. Fletcher"

Mumbling, Jade prepared the syringe and she did not wonder for the first time why she was the only one of the others - who needed such a crap.

By the time she'd entered her room later that night, the teenage girl could not believe her eyes - before Dennis had stepped out of the light, he had seriously stuck a note to the inside of the door - saying that Jade should clean up this mess ,
"That's not a mess in my room Dennis - that's a system",  Jade growled in a bad mood, not bothering to do the old man a favor just because Dennis had written that on a piece of paper and pasted it on the inside of the room door.
"A system that works"
Well, Jade knew this room system was not straight - mature, but the rest of the alcohol, which had to be somewhere under all the clothes and empty packaging - because Jade had really earned.
She'd done that for what Dennis did not seem to have any sense of mind about - or maybe it was over the ass that Lacey seemed to be cold - whatever, Jade thought, and she had really earned the drink - she had taken those stupid syringes and the video diary entry completed - if that's not a great achievement, then the teen does not know any better either.
"Yeah - I knew here is another unopened beer"

The next morning, little Lacey woke up and her dark green eyes looked confusedly around - the three-year-old did not remember exactly where she was and what exactly had happened.

It took a few minutes for the toddler to dare remember - that her mom and dad left her in front of the zoo and just drove away - then she spoke to a guy with glasses and Lacey had followed him - this one had to be his home. But the little blonde did not even know the name of the stranger who had taken her in, and so the little girl slowly straightened up and her eyes slid through the living room.

Now, as it was obviously morning, she could see much better what was in the living room-there was a desk next to the couch where she was cuddled with the blanket, lots of shelves with different everyday objects, and near the big door the little girl could see a ball lying.

Without much thought, she scrambled off the sofa and headed for the ball - to take her hand and look closer. Her parents had never given her toys like this and when the door to the living room opened, Lacey backed off with the ball and then looked at the man who had been so strict to her last night - but today he seemed to have other clothes on - his eyes softened and he wore no glasses - but what if he was mad at Lacey - because she had touched something she did not own?

Immediately, the three-year-old dropped the ball and her green eyes sparkled apologetically.

"Lacey just looked at ball," she said quickly, afraid that the man, despite other clothes, would again make such an announcement as yesterday - simply because she did not want him to go and she alone in the living room leaves.

"Hedwig must have forgotten to put the ball away - don´t worry, the ball will not break so fast - oh how rude don´t  to introduce myself, I'm Barry - I hope you slept well Lacey?", Barry replied cheerfully, looking at how The little girl seemed to relax from the body language, but her eyes reflected clearly - how unsure she was at the moment.

"Slept well - hello," Lacey said carefully, then shyly offered her hand to Barry. The fashion Desinger was surprised about the good manners and shook her little hand carefully - noticed how the toddler looked at him carefully.

"I'm glad to hear that - Jade's nightgown is a little too big for you and it's from the last Sasion - unfortunately we do not have children's clothes, but we'll get you some - do you want some breakfast? Surely you're hungry?", Barry asked and just took the cautious nod as a yes.

"Wonderful - but first I have to do something about your fashionable appearance - let me think - ah, if I take the subway in ten minutes, it takes just ten more minutes to get downtown - taking it for a day too Something from the souvenir shop of the zoo will do, a dress and a pair of shoes, there are pajamas there - yes they are at least better than the pink nightgown of Jade - I'll be back in a few minutes "

Barry once again reassured the little blonde that he would come back in a few minutes and locked the door for safety - he could not keep the little girl from running around in this'fade' of Jade - and until he got the souvenir from his home Shop, it would take less time than that if he would now take the subway into town first, as he could do another day - the Philadelphia Zoo souvenir shop dress was not - outstanding for one day it would work and thanks to his work in the zoo Barry even got a discount - he would just go over there on the way to the closet in the maintenance area of the boiler room and open the locker where Kevin's name on it - no problem.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Crumb - Madison ordered a complete basic cleaning of the outer enclosure for the penguins- what a nice head of department we have "

Barry nodded and, before leaving the break room, switched on the walkie talkie, which he used to communicate with the other Philadelphia zoo security officers, after all, one never knew if he should make contact. It had been normal for Barry for quite a number of years that the staff addressed him and the others by Kevin's last name when it was their turn to the job-all other personalities had accepted it.
Barry was not bothered by the fact that he was in charge of cleaning the penguins' grounds today - he liked most of the animals and found it fascinating to watch the behavior of the animals, even though unlike Patricia he was not enthusiastic about the tigers, So he liked working in the zoo like most other adult personalities. It was a bit varied and you never knew which task to get the following day.

When Barry arrived at the penguin house, an animal keeper waved him over to use the entrance for zoo staff, and so did Barry. The penguins would stay in the interior during the cleaning of the outdoor enclosure and thus would not get in the way of the sawing work.
It progressed relatively quickly and after barely three hours Barry had his well-deserved lunch break - which he really wanted to take and an advantage he had worked in the zoo was that he did not have to pay for lunch in one of the restaurants or snack bars.

"A Caesar salad"
"Take a yogurt with fruits"
"Yeah, great idea"
"Don´t listen to Jade's comment, I would like to have a corn-dog"
"Do you want to kill us Felicia? A Corn Dog is the worst"
"At least I do not want to eat boring with berries and remember that Jade has lactose intolerance"
"You just say that , because you like that corn dog shit"
"Shut up!"

Barry shook his head and such a discussion was not uncommon, Barry was a fan of good food, mostly Italian food, so sometimes he got the opinions of others - only too often ended in this mess and someone caught the others to insult or there was an even longer lasting discussion and to prevent this, Barry decided to look for the zoo's next fast food truck - today, even some fast food would be taken modestly.
"A cheeseburger please"
Barry handed over his own employee ID card to the staff member of the snack truck and a packed cheeseburger was given to him a few minutes later, the fashion-conscious man thanked him and accepted the boxed-in burger. Barry then looked for a bench to sit down and enjoyed lunch.

In the afternoon, Barry was still assigned to clean up and this task was very much appreciated by the young man - one reason that visitors to the zoo did not see him in that gruesome green two-piece set Work clothes got - he was a walking green fashion accident - but this gruesome uniform he had to wear to earn money, objections to the horrible designs were forbidden him, but that understood Barry.
The tool shed was not as messy as Jade's room, so he spent enough time sorting the equipment, boxes, and various buckets, as well as arranging the various objects lying around on the shelves.

The last task he had this afternoon, before he could go home, was a tour to Zoo visitors to help who had questions, where, for example, was the next enclosure or the next sanitary facility.
As Barry went past one of the many other snack stalls, which should motivate the zoo visitors to spend their money on overpriced snacks.

Near to a hot dog stand, Barry noticed a loud, angry voice and stopped. He watched as two zoo visitors zigzagged and a hot dog lay scratched on the floor. The staff member of the hot dog stand waved him closer - Barry understood and was expected to settle the situation.
The young man assumed that it should not be a problem for him - after all, he was responsible for who gets the light - was the good spirit of the large group - a reasonable clarifying conversation is now necessary.

"Is there is a problem?"
Barry had turned around to the two men arguing and now wanted to solve the situation now.
"Yes, this man pushed himself forward and intentionally slapped my hot dog on the ground"
"He took ages to decide between mustard or ketchup"
"It had been at most two minutes!"
"Is that a reason to push yourself?"
Barry took a deep breath and found the reason for this disagreement ridiculous.
"Well - you could have waited, the zoo is open until 6pm and most takeaway stalls have been up for just as long, you will not miss anything if you wait a moment," Barry said quietly to the man who was to blame the other man had dropped the hot dog.
Who tell me what I have to do, who are you! ", The predecessor snapped at Barry and his facial expressions made the fashion lover realize that he was damn angry with a slight tendency towards aggressiveness - he took a step forward Barry too.

"Let me fix the situation Barry - I feel your uncertainty," Dennis said coldly

And Barry loved to leave the light to Dennis - he did not like situations that could be dangerous to him, whom he could not judge his counterpart, and Dennis was a strong, expressive and intimidating man - he would know what to do.

The glaze changed and Dennis had taken the light after Barry had scurried back to his seat.
"If you threaten me or the other visitors badly - I'll call my colleagues to reinforce you and you'll be escorted out of the zoo," Dennis said to the man in charge, muttering something unintelligible, shouting a five-dollar bill, that man's was enough, whose hot dog he had dropped on the ground and then quickly disappeared.
"Thank you," the other man thanked him, buying from the money that had been put into his hand - a new hot dog.

After a brief reflection, Dennis also decided to buy a hot dog for Hedwig and the other little pests, wrap it up, and after paying, left the light on Barry - the situation was defused, he informed Barry that he had them Hot Dogs had bought and the fashion lover nodded in understanding, before he set off to go into the staff to quickly write the work log there.

Fifteen minutes later, Barry was back in the apartment with the bag of wrapped hot dogs in it, wondering if Lacey had been dizzy, and it surprised him to see the toddler sleeping on the floor as he entered the living room.

"But there are more comfortable places to take a nap huh sweetie?" Barry said to the sleeping three-year-old girl and was already going to pick her up and put her on the couch  - but than Barry suddenly stopped in his movement.

"Why do you also get a hot dog - etc"

Chapter Text

"You're dumb"
Hedwig had stretched the hot dog up , so that the three-year-old would not come even close to her dinner. The nine-year-old did not like the little girl - well, it was the first time he met Lacey - but Hedwig had been watching a lot - a lot of the other personalities seemed to like the toddler, even if they did not have direct contact with her - what was so great about her?

Hedwig did not understand and such a little stupid baby may not eat a hot dog - the two have brought Mr.Dennis only for him, just because Hedwig had done no shit in the last few days and the boy was proud of that, so he saw not even to give one of the two hot dogs - it was strange and Hedwig's job was of course to protect Kevin from dangerous influences. Maybe Lacey was one of this bad influences.

Lacey blinked a little sleepily up to the boy,  stood up and stretched her little hands up.

"Lacey's - please", she said excitedly and she did not know , how long ago she had been allowed to eat something delicious like a hot dog. Only the toddler did not understand - why the big boy kept the wrapped fast food up so far, how could she get  up there and eat some of it?

Hedwig gave her an angry look and then stuck her tongue out cheekily. The little girl should just take her arms down, because he certainly would not give her - how come she insists that one of the two hot dogs would be for her?

"No - that's not yours - they both belong to me, because I'm allowed to eat that and you cannot! How do you even get the idea that you're allowed to eat something," Hedwig replied coldly, watching as Lacey watched her little arms sink and looked at him now with a mixture of mistrust and uncertainty.

"Barry said - before leaving", Lacey replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world that Barry promised to give her something to eat.

"Barry is stupid - you're a little baby and you do not get a hot dog"

Hedwig sat down quickly with the two hot dogs on the sofa and began to eat them - of course, the nine-year-old did not pay attention, that the ketchup dripped onto the carpet of the living room. He had what he wanted, and by his special gift - that he could just wish for the light and the rest of what he did and could see locked out - Hedwig had neither guilt nor pity for Lacey, who now settled down on the living room floor had left and looked at him with sadly eyes.

"Stop it - it's annoying etc"

Hedwig felt herself watched by those green eyes and tossed her a piece of the hot dog, the Lacey could just catch with their little hands and began to eat. That was all she had wanted - why was the big boy so mean to her?

When she finished eating the piece of fast food, she wiped her ketchup fingers on the clothes - which was no alternative for the three-year-olds, and then watched as Hedwig threw the empty paper on the floor.

Why don´t I have such a coloring book? "

A few minutes later, the nine-year-old discovered the coloring book the little blonde had spent the afternoon on, picked it up, and eyed it critically. Of course it was a blatant lie - he had been given many coloring books by Miss Patricia and Felicia, they were all in his room.

"These are my pencils!"
Hedwig tore the pack from the toddler's hand and squeezed it with his coloring book in front of his chest, he did not notice Lacey flinch, hands protecting against her head and making a very frightening impression.

"Go to the kitchen, I do not have to see you dumb goat - etc!"

Hedwig had opened the door of the living room and his offended voice instructed Lacey to go into the hall and instead of the kitchen she ran to one of the storage rooms and hid, thanks to the open doors in there.

"Ha - I'm away from her- the stupid little baby will not annoy me anymore - or get the attention of the others"

Satisfied with his accomplishments and laying down on the couch of his living room - now he would have all the other people's attention to himself - but had Hedwig been thinking that his jealousy might have been aimed at the wrong target? Lacey never intended to deny him his place? No, that had not occurred to Hedwig and when he felt that Mr.Dennis would soon realize that he had the light, Hedwig decided to give it back to the wearer.

.....

Of course, once Dennis was shocked and angry at Hedwig about the mess and ketchup stains he had left on the carpet in the living room and the first thing Dennis did was clean the carpet.

Only later he realized that this - child was not here and the others, especially Patricia and Barry would give him an angry speech,  that he was horrible and unresponsive.
Dennis sighed heavily and, after eliminating Hedwig's chaos, went in search of Lacey.

For a long time he did not have to search, because Dennis noticed when entering the hall, the door from one of the storerooms was open and the wearer of glasses heard a few seconds later a quiet crying. With great strides, he approached the door and turned on the light.

"Come on, kid - oh God - your clothes are full of ketchup", Dennis said, annoyed as he saw Lacey hiding behind some old wooden boxes and shaking his head in panic.

"Lacey good- Lacey good- not bad girl", said the little girl and a few tears flowed down her cheeks while she looked at Dennis in fear.

But the little blonde took off her T-Shirt and now, for the first time ever, Dennis could see a little detail , of what had remained hidden from him yesterday. It was a scar on the inside of Lacey's right arm, adorned with a few bruises.

She is pure - she has suffered pain - she is one of us.

......

That was clear to Dennis now, and when he looked into the toddler's worried eyes, it reminded him of Kevin - the poor man looked always in  the same way - in panic about his mother, who beat him again and again.

"You have experienced pain - really suffered - I ... I misjudged you, come here and I will give you new clothes - please"

Dennis tried not to give his voice the usual annoyed tone, but the realization that Lacey was pure - surprised him, maybe she was not an annoying little girl.

The three-year-old moved but not even close to Dennis.

"Lacey good - you bad - mean to Lacey", Lacey whispered and Dennis guessed what she was telling about - when Hedwig was in the light, he had not changed his clothes and now Lacey saw Dennis in him - actually he wanted to deal with the situation, to show Lacey he was not bad at all, but Barry turned to him and made it clear , that Lacey would not understand that at the moment and he would rather give the light to him - even if Dennis did not want it, Barry would probably get along better with it.

"Oh my poor baby girl - don´t worry we'll talk to Hedwig about this- but now we need to clean you first , people might think you've starred in a horror movie, are you coming to Honey?"

Barry had squatted  down, when he was in control and his gentle voice finally gave Lacey the safety she need, to  went away from the protective box.

Lacey ran to Barry and let him take comforting her in his arms. She snuggled up to the fashion lover , seeking  for protection.

"I think that Hedwig is jealous of you Baby Girl - but he will realize , that you are not a danger and because he frightened you and treated you unfairly, he will not get the light for a while now"

Chapter Text

Kevin had noticed during the last few days,  how the other personalities - have experienced Lacey's suffering and that one fact changed the horde's mind, at least the opinions of the personalities who had been critical of the toddler - because she might have been a danger , the scar on her arm, however, spoke a different language and it gave Kevin hope - that Lacey would understand what it means to be scared, what it means to live a completely different life - in constant concern, the people you trust should, with which one should feel safe - the persons were, which tormented one.

The little blonde had confessed to Jade that her parents had tormented her and done her the bruises along with the scar for an absolutely absurd reason.

She was so completely different from her older siblings.

Kevin thoughed about the girl, she was so similar to himself, and in the same span of time as Kevin himself had suffered physical and mental pain, such an experience changed the soul of a small child so quickly - nothing will ever be the same again it was once.

The battered, injured young man was sitting in his chair, watching Orwell trying to teach Lacey some history fact and Kevin realized that the little blonde was technically absolutely and perfectly listening to it . Kevin knew that Lacey had met most of the other personalities in the last few days, but only Kevin and Patricia still holding back to meet her.

For Kevin personally, it was more the reason he did not know how to deal with Lacey without hurting her feelings, because Kevin was a broken man, insecure, anxious, and his social contacts were not as well-spaced as they should be - Although Kevin still found his illness scary sometimes, he was glad he had the others - that they protect him.

"Kevin - I would like to talk to you if it's alright for you"

Kevin looked away from Orwell and did not notice how B.T was standing in front of his chair and wanted to ask him for a conversation.

"N ... Of course B.T - what do you want to talk about?", Kevin stuttered slightly and looked at the tall man with the shoulder-length black hair and did not really know what exactly B.T now wanted to discuss with him.

"Not here - let´s go to the garden"
B.T gave him a hand signal to follow him and so Kevin got up from his chair and followed the larger one to the garden.

......

"The others should not hear this - especially not those who are concerned"

B.T had his arms crossed over his chest and looked at Kevin thoughtfully. The young broken man did not know why they were standing here in the garden now and what would happen to him now.

"Did I do something wrong?" Kevin asked uneasily, pinning a fold of the T-shirt he was wearing and watching BT's expression change - the larger one was known to do darker business more often Having frequented pubs and generally having a negative world view - his face got serious and Kevin was not sure if BT's serious expression had anything positive to say.

"No - I want to warn you Kevin"

The abused young man did not understand - what did B.T want to warn him about and why did he see it as a task? Barry was usually the person who made warnings - or prevented Hedwig from building any crap. Kevin glanced nervously to the ground and made an unsteady foot motion, before he returned his concentration on B.T's face.

"W ..What are talking about B.T?" Kevin said uncertainly and finally wanted to know an answer.

"Someone should warn Lacey about Patricia and Dennis - we both know you have false beliefs, you remember the ridiculous stories they both told us to keep in mind, neither Patricia nor Dennis - are good people!"

B.T emphatically voiced this warning - and Kevin remembered the story that Patricia and Dennis had told - about this supposed beast and that it was addictive to those who had not yet suffered, the unclean ones. The other personalities had made it clear to Dennis and Patricia that it was an uncomfortable view and that both have to bear the consequences if they mention it again in the presence of the others. But how should Kevin deal with the obvious warning from B.T?

The young man decided to deal with this serious thoughts and possibly talk with Barry about it.

Chapter Text

The small garden that belonged to the underground apartment was not very big, or beautiful. No - not every one of Kevin's personalities thought much of caring about the garden. Most of the work was hanging on Felicia or Rakel.

Lacey had Barry's permission to go to the little garden and play there. The little one liked Barry more than Dennis, even though the adult wearing glasses person,  was not as scary as he was a few days ago, Barry was one of her personal favorite, he was nice, always brought her beautiful clothes and gave her some confidence - Dennis, on the other hand, had something cold and severe on him - maybe it would take a while , before Lacey could trust Dennis.

But for the moment, the three-year-old was pleased that she was allowed to move outside and the messiness of the small garden did not bother the girl.

She had taken the little ball, wich was lying in a corner of the garden and was playing, more bad than right, a little bit football and seemed to enjoy it.

Only when the blonde heard a few sounds clacking heels, she put the ball  down and turned around.

"Jade?" Lacey asked curiously, watching as someone who was not dressed as Jade came into the small garden. The person wore a red sweater, a black skirt, black high heels, and a silver chain, while the second glance , Lacey guessed it was not jade.

"I'm not Jade Darling - My name is Patricia," , Patricia replied, setting the little pot of tulips, wich  she wanted to plant in the garden on the floor and giving the little blonde a motherly smile.

Lacey ran shyly towards Patricia and gave her the hand.

"Hello Patricia - I Lacey," Lacey introduced herself and gave the elegant lady a childlike smile.
"I know - the others are talking about you - how is your arm doing?", Patricia replied and returned the shake of her hand before Lacey tried to hide the injured arm.

"Don´t hurt", Lacey replied, wanting to cover the area of her arm with her little hand, but Patricia put her hand away - with a certain gentle pressure.

"Do not hide what makes you special darling - you are worth more than those who have not suffered - and now I wanted to plant some tulips in this garden - may you help me with that?"

Patricia got a nod of agreement in response to the three-year-old girl and then started helping Patricia plant the tulips in the small garden.

"Flowers can make a place e a lot better and now we go back inside - you need your dinner Lacey"

Patricia was pleased to see the work and the tulips now decorating a separate corner of the little garden.

"Keep playing?" Lacey asked, pointing to the ball, which was still in another corner of the garden waiting to be played with.
"You can continue playing tomorrow - let's go insinde yes?," Patricia said firmly, waiting for Lacey to take her hand and join her in the kitchen. The little blonde looked from the ball to Patricia and then decided to go with the woman.
"Good girl," Patricia said as the little one took her hand and went back home with her.

"I have to excuse Dennis's behavior - he's trying to be good you know - he had reservations about you, but he wants to protect us - if you give him time, he'll want to protect you as well - Hedwig still does not see that he scared you - but do not worry, I'll talk to the little boy again - do you like sandwiches for dinner Lacey? "

Patricia was sure Dennis would need time to accept Lacey and learn it was important to protect her - especially since she was such a wonderful girl, but Patricia also knew that Dennis was not the sort of person to be loved by could trust someone right now. Time would tell this and how everything would develop, but Patricia remained confident. Even the beast would, when its time came, realize that this abandoned toddler would be an important step in the cleansing of the world from the impure.

Chapter Text

"I'm not thrilled with this idea - what if someone comes up with something?"
"It's a service from for the employes, and before any of you think about,  telling Dr Fletcher that we have Lacey now with us, it would be good if we make arrangements about when telling her and how."
"But to put her in the daycare centre - is that an good idea? What if she is scared about that?"
"Only when you come back to the idea,  of telling Lacey this in an dumb voice idiot- how about you stop telling such an bullshit and just try to chill?"
"That's your perfect approach-way, isn´t it Jade? Chilln - that's no useful"
"Huh, you're more balanced and do not have such stress"
"If you cleaned up your room, I would have less stress jade"
"Hey, what do you want now Dennis!"

The round was complete and Kevin's body as well as Lacey slept and the other personalities made it to their business , to decide if and how to use the offer they had get at work.

For the Philadelphia Zoo employes, there was the chance to take care of the children in a day care centre and it would be much easier to get along with the time for Lacey. Besides, it would be less dangerous that some of the "chatterbox" personalities would say something to Dr. Forlether, and Barry did not want that. Dr. Fletcher was such a nice and lovely woman . who did so much for all of them - but it did not have to be, that the psychologist was pulled into something that was not meant for her. And the little girl's life has become an integral part of Kevin's life in recent days.

But still, it was necessary for someone to keep an eye on Lacey, while they would be at work , and Barry did not necessarily want to put the toddler in the hand of any strangers, she was so tender and vulnerable, and Barry had a new source of inspiration from the three-year-old and the designer liked it - it was always good to have new sources of inspiration.

Still, the others were of the opinion . that a toddler could not be left alone in the flat for nine hours or more - not just that she would get hungry and thirsty, no Barry knew how important it was to Hedwig, that someone take care of him, even if the nine-year-old is not always enthusiastic about it - it is necessary.

The vote was supposed to get a clear indication of whether and how to sign up for Lacey at the daycare center provided by the Philadelphia Zoo. That it would end in a loud vote, however, hardly anyone could have guessed - also because the opinions went so extremely apart.

"Do we want to discuss the remaining four hours now, whether it's good or bad, if we accept the offer?",  Felicia wanted to know.
"What else do we discuss about it - it's the best solution and it's free for us- we don´t need to pay anything if we put her in the day care centre" Luke said.
"What if she don´t want to go there?", said Patricia and the pretty woman crossed her arms over her chest and thought it was less great that they wanted to put the little blonde in the daycare.
"You would to take the risk , that she runs away or do any  other shit, while we are at work?" Dennis spoke up, and the round stopped talking for a moment.

No one of the personalities wanted to take such risks - or risk that Lacey could get hurt or run away.

"Folks please - Try to calm down -  we talk about this now democratically - with a hand sign vote"

Barry had confidently got up from his chair and stood in the middle of the circle. It would be the perfect solution before the conversation really unfolds in an ugly direction.

"Now I ask those of you,  to raise your hand against this idea" Barry said, counting four hands that shot up shortly after he said that.
"And now please the voices that are for the idea"
Of course, the fashion designer also raised his own hand and so 19 personalities were for the idea to report Lacey in the day care center.

Who could have thought , that such an voting could be so difficult?

Chapter Text

Epilogue

Lacey had gotten used to Dennis and the other personalities she had met, and most of them were very kind to the three-year-old - except for Hedwig, but the little blonde girl was glad she had not met the nine-year-old yet again.

Surely he would have offended her again and chased her out of the room - and the little girl did not want that.

"Cornflakes," she said, after she had entered the kitchen and opened the small closet, just to see the many different packets of cereal in front of her.

Actually, she was not allowed eat something before dinner - as a snack or something. But if she remembered right, Jade was in her room talking about some Youtube videos - surely the teenager would not notice, especially if Lacey was careful about taking one of the different packs out of the closet.

But she hesitated - if Dennis find it out , the man with glasses would be very angry with her. Finally  the toddler had the desire to take one of the cereal packets from the cupboard and to eat some of the flakes.

 Without further thought , she grabbed one of the still closed packs, then sat down on the kitchen floor and tried to get it open.

"You need more strength"

The toddler looked up, when she heard Hedwig's voice and returned the cornflake pack on the floor, only to turn back to the taller boy in his yellow-and-blue jogging suit and was unsure how to behave while Hedwig was around here.

"Don´t worry - I will not hurt you - Miss Patricia said to me, you are special, that you are not a stupid goat who wants to take the others away from me", explained Hedwig and sat next to the girl on the floor.

"You can be my little sister, if you like - then we can play together - oh you want to secretly eat some cornflakes etc?"

Hedwig grinned at the surprised toddler and nodded to the sealed packet of cornflakes. Lacey did not know how she should react to this unfamiliar situation at all - Hedwig wanted to be nice to her and maybe he could help her get the stupid pack open

.
"Eat cornflakes - but no open", Lacey replied, putting a finger close to her lips, which made Hedwig's grin wider and he nodded in understanding.

"I also sometimes eat sweets without anyone noticing - the others are busy, so nobody will come"

Hedwig took the packet of cornflakes and opened them with the strength of a nine-year-old without any problems and so Hedwig and Lacey sat on the kitchen floor a few minutes later and enjoyed the cornflakes.

Although the situation was certainly not normal - so Kevin and the others could have someone to protect and they would have someone to give them love without any pain - it would be a completely new experience for both sides - a  new life.

But for the moment, it was good that Hedwig had put aside his jealousy and saw Lacey as his little sister - because that did not make him the youngest anymore and that was something Hedwig was incredibly proud of.

THE END