Chapter Text
When he puts the car into park, Din gives himself two seconds. He gets two seconds to collect himself, two deep breaths to stop being worried, and then he'll shut the car off and be fine. Any longer than that, and Grogu will know something's wrong. Then the kid will be worried about him, and pausing at all will have been pointless, because the point of taking a second in the first place is so that he's not scared when they get inside. Or at least, not a type of scared that Grogu will pick up on.
One deep breath. This is a good thing. It'll help Grogu. It's something that will help them both.
Another deep breath. There's nothing to be worried about. Everyone here is supposed to help them, and they probably work with kids like Grogu all the time. Besides, they've seen Grogu's paperwork. Grogu's doctor was going to talk to them. They know it's not Din's fault.
He turns the car off, unbuckling his seat belt and turning to smile at Grogu in his car seat. Grogu grins at him, already putting his frog back in the toy bag hanging off the back of the passenger seat. Din climbs out and lets himself take one more deep breath as he rounds the car before he opens Grogu's door. If this goes badly, they don't have to come back.
When he opens the side door, he's composed enough that Grogu won't pick up on his nerves. Mostly, the kid's emotional intelligence is a good thing, but every now and then, there's a piece of Din that wishes Grogu was a bit less finely tuned to the emotions around him. Not that he'd ever change anything about his kid, but Grogu has enough emotions as it is. He doesn't need to pick up on everyone else's, too. For now, though, he's smiling up at his dad, his arms stretched up to the sky so Din can reach the buckle on his car seat. He's probably getting a little big to be carried places, but when he reaches for his dad with a smile, Din can't say no.
"Ready, Kiddo?" he asks, hoisting Grogu onto his hip. Grogu nods, one string of his frog hoodie held in his mouth. Din just smiles, trying to tug it out, but Grogu shakes his head and bites down harder. Somewhere along the line, he realized that people won't expect him to talk if there's something in his mouth, and it's a habit Din has decided isn't worth fighting about at the moment. They might have to work on it later, but for now, he just bends down to let Grogu press the handicapped button to open the door to the therapist's office. While the kid's busy watching the door open, Din gives himself half a second more to steel his nerves, and they walk inside.
The waiting room is mostly empty, and it's painted a pale blue that's probably supposed to be calming. Din lets Grogu down so he can play while Din gets them registered, but Grogu hangs close, and Din can't find it in himself to point out the toys or books lining the walls. Grogu knows they're an option, but if he wants to stay close, well, Din isn't going to say no to that. Instead, he sits down in a chair near them and makes room for Grogu on his lap, filling out the chart while Grogu busies himself trying to find the cheerios hidden in his dad's leather jacket. They're supposed to be a treat for after the appointment, a snack in case he gets hungry while they spend an hour or two at Din's site, but when he finds them and spills half the bag trying to open it, Din just lets him snack now. There are goldfish in the car. Grogu's just finishing his impromptu snack when they hear his name, and Din looks up.
“Grogu Djarin?” The doctor standing in the doorway is wearing a pastel cardigan, and really, if Din was going to guess what a children’s therapist might look like, this guy wouldn’t be too far off. Between the pale blonde hair and the easy smile, he looks like someone a kid could learn to trust easily. Hopefully, his personality matches his face. Din gives Grogu a second to finish his snack, then stands, Grogu still held close. He rubs his back as they cross the room, promising that it’ll be alright and hoping Grogu can't tell the reassurances are as much for himself as they are for his kid.
When they get to the doctor, Din says, “That’s us. I... Grogu can hear just fine but uses sign language to communicate; is it alright if I come in as an interpreter?”
The doctor smiles, leaning over a bit to see Grogu's face. He waves at the boy, and Grogu cuddles in closer to Din, but he waves, too. "That's more than alright, at least for now. We might bring in someone else down the line, but it looks like having you around is going to help him, at least for today. I'm Luke; I'm going to be chatting with y'all for a bit."
"I'm Din, and this is Grogu." Grogu waves again, his hoodie string back in his mouth. Luke smiles, and as they walk to his office, Din adds, "Grogu's not really talking yet, and his other doctors haven't found a physical reason, so they thought you might be able to help us. We understand each other just fine; I mean, it hasn't been a problem. But with school coming up... I want him to have the best shot he can."
Grogu signs something, and Din nods, smiling. "That's right, buddy. You do talk with your hands, and I think that's great. But lots of people don't know how to do that, so it might be hard to make friends or ask for help."
Grogu sighs, leaning back against his dad, and Din runs a hand over his head.
"We'll see what we can do," Luke says, smiling at them as he opens the door to his office. "Maybe you can teach me some sign language, how does that sound? One of my hands is fake, though, so it might look funny."
Grogu nods with a smile. He's been slowly pulling his face away from Din's shoulder, and as they go into the office, he's looking around curiously. Luke offers him a chair of his own, but he settles into his dad's lap instead, holding onto Din's shirt with one hand. Din wraps an arm around him automatically as Luke settles down across from them. Grogu looks between his dad and Luke with big eyes, and his dad just smiles, rubbing his arm a bit.
"It's okay, Buddy. Dr. Luke is gonna talk and help you out, and I'll be right here. Promise." Grogu nods, letting the hoodie string drop out of his mouth. It's something.
When they wrap up an hour later, Grogu's smiling, and Luke's learned a handful of words in sign language. They’ve had to simplify some words to work with his prosthetic, but Grogu seemed to enjoy that. Luke promises to keep learning, and when Din asks for a word, Luke sets Grogu up with some toys in his office and they step outside.
“Is he...” Din chews his lip for a second, staring at his shoes, a hand on the back of his neck. He's not even sure he knows what he wants to ask, only that he needs to know the truth.
"He's a great kid," Luke says, and his tone is kind. "From his file and what the doctor who recommended you said, it sounds like he's been through a lot, but you'd never know by looking at him."
"His other doctors thought it might be trauma. I... I just want him to be happy, and I want to give him the best shot I can," Din says quietly. "Is there anything more I should do? Or something I shouldn't do? We... I talk to him all the time, and I think he feels comfortable with me."
"I don't know if I've ever met a kid who liked their parents as much as he likes you," Luke says with a smile, and he must pick up on Din's surprise at that, because he reaches out to put a hand on Din's shoulder. "You're doing a good job, Din. Even bringing him to me is impressive, and I can tell he trusts you. Does he... when you're home, or it's just the two of you, does he speak at all?”
"He'll... sometimes, when it's just us, he'll talk some. I do English and Spanish at home, and he does more English, but he'll use both, plus ASL. But even when it's not words, I mean, you saw him. He's rarely silent. And he's smart, too, and tough... he's a good kid, and we understand each other just fine."
"I know. I'm on your side; you don't have to convince me. I know he's a great kid, and I know you're a good dad who's doing his best. I have a few ideas of what might be going on. I'll do some more digging, but I think we can find a treatment plan that works for him."
Din’s shoulders relax, and he finally meets Luke’s eyes, smiling a bit. “Thank you. And he... does he seem set otherwise? I know you’re not a teacher or anything, but I couldn’t get him into a preschool, and I’m worried I’m going to miss something teaching him at home for the first year.”
“He seems just fine, but I’ll talk to a few folks in the school district and see if I can get some curriculum or anything. Really, from what I know, they don’t do a ton in the first year of pre-K.”
“Thank you,” Din says. He glances back into the room, where they can see Grogu playing through a window in the door.
“He’s going to be alright. With a dad like you, he’ll turn out just fine.”
“Do you really think so?” Din asks, looking almost surprised. “Even though it’s just me?”
“I do. You’re doing a good job.”
“Thank you. I... I’m sorry if I’m defensive; I just... I want everyone to know how great he is, and I’m scared they won’t.”
“Honestly, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Luke says. “He’s friendly, and I swear he’s got the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. And he loves you a lot; that’s... I see a lot of kids, and yours adores you. You're doing a good job; I think he’ll be okay.”
Din smiles, and when he opens the door, Grogu looks over and his whole face splits into a grin. He comes running for Din as fast as his little legs can take him, and Din scoops him up easily, letting him cuddle close.
“Say thank you to Dr. Luke?” He asks, and Grogu smiles, signing “thank you”.
“You’re very welcome. I’ll see you next week?” Luke asks, and Din nods.
“We’ll see you next week.” And, as he cajoles Grogu into his car seat with promises of goldfish, Din finds himself almost looking forward to it.