Here is the next part of Seanna's adventures as she slowly watches her life change in ways she had never dreamed possible.

Most of the cautions given here refer to events that happened to Asemba before Seanna rescued her. The violence one also indirectly refers to Leilani, who witnessed the brutal beating of her mother a few days earlier, followed by her mother's death the next day.

**********

The sound of crying very close to her woke Seanna from a sound sleep, she realized it was Asemba crying; turning herself slightly in the bed, she put both her arms around the little girl and very gently pulled her into a hug. Seanna had some idea as to what was causing Asemba to cry, but that didn't matter to her at all, all that mattered was that Asemba be given love and compassion, and that Seanna could and would do.

As far as Seanna could tell, Asemba was still asleep, but the crying continued as Seanna held her close.

It was about ten minutes later that Asemba's crying tailed off into brief sobs and then stopped; Asemba awoke, still being held close by Seanna, and slowly turned herself so that she was facing Seanna, then produced a weak smile and whispered, "Thank you."

Seanna just kept on hugging her, and replied, "If you ever want to talk to me or someone else about things, just let me know, okay?"

The little girl shuddered in Seanna's soft but firm grasp, as if she were recalling events that she would prefer not to remember, yet something told her that she would be safe with this woman. Asemba shuddered briefly again, then whispered, "He did lots of aw-awful things to me..."

It sounded like Asemba wanted to say more, but couldn't just yet, so Seanna quietly asked, "I assume you mean your father?"

Asemba nodded, whispering, "Yes, he hit me with his hands shut lots of times, you... you saw the bru... bruises yester... day. It started when he... he took me from... momma's apartment, he pulled me... me so hard it left... bruises on my arm. He took me to a... a motel, it was yucky, not clean, bugs... ewwwwwww... that's when he... he started hitting me, then... then he stuck his... his thing in me, and it HURT, ohh, it hurt!"

Asemba broke into tears again, occasional hiccups rising through the crying, and Seanna continued to hold her, wondering how the hell someone could do things like that man had done to his own daughter. Eventually, the crying slowed down and stopped.

A few minutes later, Asemba continued, "He kept me in... in that yucky room for... for over three days, he... he hit me when he... he felt like it, and he... he stuck his thing in... in me three, four times... times a day, until... yesterday, he decided to go... to where you found me."

Seanna tensed, her anger rising, swiftly turning to pure fury, while still trying to gently hold the girl as she relived her recent horrors. "I told you yesterday, when we were in the hospital before they started examining you, that I would be there for you, I meant it with all my heart."

Asemba nodded, then turned over and gently snugged herself in against Seanna. It took a while, but eventually both were once again asleep.

**********

Seanna woke up again when her bladder made it quite clear that she needed a washroom rather soon. After taking a quick look at the lovely dark-skinned child lying on the bed, Seanna got up and semi-ran to the washroom, took care of her needs and washed her hands.

She wandered back out into the bedroom, looking at the small digital alarm clock/radio sitting on the night table, it showed 3:35 PM.

She sat on the edge of the bed, content to just watch Asemba sleep, then remembered that she didn't have the judge's order about Asemba. She went to her purse, pulled out her cell phone and called the information desk at the hospital she had taken Asemba to yesterday.

"Hello, this is the information desk at Children's Hospital, may I ask what you need, please?"

"Hello, my name is Seanna Ramsay, I brought a young girl in there yesterday to have extensive testing done under a judge's order. It seems that Dr. Patricks didn't return the order to me when the tests were done, and I need that order so I can provide care for Asemba."

"Ahhhh... just a moment, let me check if Dr. Patricks is in the building." The line switched to muzak commonly heard while on hold; Seanna waited, slightly impatiently, until the woman returned to the line a few minutes later, "Yes, she's here, and she says you can pick it up here."

Seanna replied, "By here, I assume you mean the information desk near the front entrance?"

"That is correct, she will leave it here for you sometime in the next half hour or so."

"Thank you, that will give me some time to have something to eat, I haven't had anything since early yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, my, it sounds like you had best get something to eat soon. You must be starving!"

"Something like that. I'll be by to pick up the judge's order in about an hour. Bye." She then ended the call.

She turned to the bed, smiling briefly when she saw Asemba looking up at her, and asked, "How about we go out and get some food?"

For a moment, Asemba looked worried or upset at the thought of going out, but she soon smiled up at Seanna and nodded.

Seanna grinned at the little girl, "All right, then let's get ready, would you mind wearing something of Leilani's, you're about the same size?"

Asemba thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, saying, "Anyfing is fine, I's not picky."

"Okay, one more question, do you want to have a bath by yourself, or do you want me in the bath with you? I'll help you get clean either way."

Again, Asemba took a moment to think it over, then she smiled weakly up at Seanna and told her, "I want you wifs me, den I feels safe."

Seanna rushed to the bed's edge, leaned down, picked up the girl and hugged her close for several minutes.

**********

Half an hour later, Seanna and Asemba were both clean after having a bit of fun in the bathtub, both of them were giggling. They wandered into Leilani's room, where Seanna found some pale pink panties and handed them to Asemba, followed by a pair of white tights. Seanna then opened the closet, and spent several minutes digging through the clothing there, before she pulled out a pink knee-length jersey dress.

Seanna spent the next few minutes helping Asemba to get dressed, then had Asemba try on a pair of black Mary Janes, which fit fairly well. She then walked into the main bedroom and quickly dressed herself in the jeans she'd been wearing for the last day or so, then looked in Sue's dresser for a t-shirt, eventually picking out a green one with a fuzzy looking bear on it, and a pale green sweater. She would have worn a pair of Sue's jeans, but her legs were a few inches longer than Sue's had been, so they wouldn't fit properly.

Once they were both dressed, Seanna called JJ to have her send Leilani up so she could pick out something nice to wear.

**********

Leilani came scampering up the stairs, and ran into the apartment once the door had been opened, then into her bedroom. Asemba was still in Leilani's bedroom, having just finished getting dressed, and was startled for a moment when Leilani entered the room.

Leilani noticed Asemba looking at her, and grinned, saying, "That dress looks better on you than on me, you can have it."

Asemba nodded shyly, not sure just what to say. She continued to stand there watching Leilani, then got tired of standing, sat down on the bed and watched as Leilani dove into the closet, eventually coming out a few minutes later with a pale green dress. Leilani tossed the dress on the bed beside Asemba, then opened her dresser and pulled out a pair of light green panties and white tights.

Leilani dropped those on the bed, then started undressing herself, at which point Asemba covered her own eyes, being a bit embarrassed. Leilani turned around and continued undressing, only turning back to grab the panties and tights, putting them on before reaching for the dress. Here, she had a bit of difficulty and called Seanna in to help, and Seanna smiled as she quickly helped Leilani to finish dressing.

Seanna then stepped back for a moment, looking at the two girls, so different in one way, but similar in others. "You both look lovely."

**********

Seanna went into the main bedroom again, pulled out her phone and checked to see if there were any messages. There were two, one from her Momma, hoping that she was okay, the other one was from that slime Singh and it turned her blood cold for a moment.

"Hello, Miss Seeeeeanna Ramsay, I see you're not available at the moment. I heard through some friends of mine in the court systems that you have managed to acquire another little girl, and I'm quite happy to say I'll take her away from you, too, you filthy tranny bitch."

Seanna stood there, shaking as her anger took over, this creep was really beginning to get on her nerves. She took one deep breath after another for a few minutes, then called the company offices and left a message for Jackie about the message she had just heard. Just after she hung up, having left the message for Jackie, the two little girls scampered into the room, coming to a stop when they saw Seanna.

It was immediately obvious to both of them that Seanna was quite upset, and the girls walked over to her, hugging her from both sides. Seanna broke down then, falling to her knees, and spent several minutes crying while the two girls held on to her.

When the tears finally stopped, Seanna smiled at the two little girls, whispering her thanks to them, then slowly stood up. "Let me go in the bathroom and clean myself up, then we'll head out. I need to make a couple of stops before we go to have some food, okay?"

The two girls nodded and Seanna walked into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later looking a fair bit better. Seanna went and got the girls' coats, then picked up her own, and after locking the door, they all trooped down the steps and out back to the car.

Seanna made sure the door to the house was locked, then unlocked the car and put Leilani in her car seat and Asemba beside her. Seanna chuckled for a moment, then said, "It looks like I need to get a car seat for Asemba, too, I guess we can stop in there at some point today."

Asemba looked over at Leilani and asked, "Car seat? Likes hers?" as she pointed at Leilani's.

Seanna laughed, "Yes, like Leilani's, but we'll do that after I take care of some other things and after we have something to eat." She started the car, and was just about to back out to go down the lane beside the house when her phone rang. She pulled the phone out, saw it was Jackie returning her call and answered it, "Hi, Jackie, thanks for calling back so fast. That filth Singh at Child Services called me today."

Jackie responded, "What did he say?" at which point Seanna gave a quick but complete rundown of the message. Jackie listened, then asked if Seanna could come in so that she could record the message, in case it might be needed in the court on Tuesday.

Seanna thought for a moment, the company offices were only a half mile or so from the hospital, so that wouldn't add much time.

"All right, Jackie, I'll meet you in about an hour, might be a bit less, it depends on how bad the traffic is."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Bye," as Jackie ended the call.

**********

"Okay, we're going to the hospital so I can get that judge's order back, then to the company offices so Jackie can copy the message. Once we finish doing that, we'll decide where to eat, after that, we'll go to the mall where I got Leilani's car seat and get one for you, Asemba."

The two little girls quickly answered yes as Seanna backed up, then turned down the lane to the street; she checked carefully for any traffic, had to wait a moment as a large pick-up rumbled by, then turned into the street and started driving toward the hospital.

**********

The drive to the hospital took about 35 minutes, traffic was not too bad, many people had left the offices a bit earlier to enjoy the weekend.

Seanna pulled into the visitors lot, parked the car as close to the main entrance as possible, then got out, opened the back door, taking a few minutes to release the two girls and help them out, before locking the car and holding both girls' hands, walked into the hospital.

They went to the information desk, but had to wait for a few minutes, as there was no one there, so they sat down on the bench nearby. They had been sitting there for maybe five minutes when Seanna noticed someone was at the desk, so she and the girls walked over to it.

"Hello, I called earlier about a judge's order that I am supposed to carry regarding Asemba here, my name is Seanna Ramsay."

The young woman behind the desk looked up, "I'll need to see some identification, please, before I give you that order."

Seanna shook her head, but pulled out her wallet, then a few pieces of ID, including two photo ones, setting them on the counter. The young woman spent a few minutes closely examining them, then placed a call to Dr. Patricks to come down to the information desk.

"If you're wondering why I called Dr. Patricks, it's because she can verify who you are, as she was with you all last night."

Seanna wasn't entirely pleased at having to have someone verify who she was, but if it helped, she could stay calm until it was all sorted.

Several minutes later, Dr. Patricks walked up to the desk, looked at Seanna, and asked why she had been called down. When she was told that it was to verify that Seanna was who she said she was, she wasn't very pleased, either, but she did provide the verification.

Once that was done, Seanna's ID was returned to her, along with the judge's order, and she and the girls turned to leave the hospital. Seanna turned back for a moment and thanked Dr. Patricks for all of her help with the examinations.

Dr. Patricks responded by saying that she had the results, if Seanna would come with her, she could get them now. Seanna quickly agreed and she and the two girls followed the doctor to her office, where Dr. Patricks rummaged through a pile of papers, then handed some to Seanna.

Dr. Patricks spoke quietly, "That should be everything. This little one is lucky, she's way too young to be able to get pregnant, thank God, but she has obviously been raped several times, all within the last four or five days, both front and back, and yes, we found semen."

Seanna closed her eyes for a moment, the fury at what Asemba had gone through was rising again, she swore she would get justice for her. "I'm sorry, I'm rather upset right now, can we just sit here for a few minutes, while I explain to Asemba what was found?"

Dr. Patricks nodded. "I'll stay right here, so I can help if it's needed."

Seanna turned to Asemba, still very upset, "Asemba, love, the tests that were done found evidence of what your daddy did to you, that evidence will be used to put him behind bars for a very long time. I don't think he'll be happy there, child molesters don't often last long in jail."

Asemba looked up at Seanna, a few tears sliding down each cheek, "He cant's... can'ts hurts me again? I stays... stays wifs you?"

"He'll never hurt you again, little one. If you want to stay with me, we can ask the court to allow that, but we have to follow procedure, okay?"

"What's that means, dat proced-ced-ure?"

"Asemba, it means we have to do things step by step, I can't just say you're mine, as much as I might want to say that. So in a few days, when I have to be in family court anyway, I'll ask the judge for a recommendation that you stay in my care so I can take care of your needs. That might turn out to be a bit easier than for most because my family has a fair bit of money behind us, finances will not be an issue."

Dr. Patricks interrupted, "You're going into family court? Why?"

"You likely didn't know this, Dr., but I'm transsexual, and this guy Singh at Child Services is intending to use that to take the children."

Dr. Patricks blanched when Seanna mentioned Singh, then said some things that shouldn't be said in front of young children. She then apologized, then added, "If it's who I think it is, that jerk caused my cousin to commit suicide about a year ago."

Seanna's head snapped up when she heard suicide. "Dr., was your cousin a woman named Eileen Patterson?"

This time, it was Dr. Patrick in shock. "Yes, but how do you know about it?"

"Well, Dr., your cousin and another woman both worked in my company. It seems Singh found out they were lesbians, and went after them to the point where the one woman's child was taken from her and put into foster care. A few months after that, your cousin committed suicide, and maybe a month or so after that, the mother had a major nervous breakdown and has been in a mental health home since then."

Dr. Patricks said a few more things that young children really shouldn't hear, but the two girls ignored her, both of them hugging Seanna.

"Dr. Patricks, if things go as I hope they will on Tuesday, this Singh may well find himself out of a job and facing a lawsuit or two."

"Why do you think they'll go that way? What makes you different from others he's destroyed?"

"The simple fact that, as the new CEO of Ramsay Enterprises as of this coming Monday, I'll be in control of several businesses worth a total of about $780 million US. The people that Singh has picked on in the past often had minimal financial resources, which hurt their chances. Singh was able to put them through enough legal wranglings that many of them ended up flat broke, losing everything."

"Holy Mother! So he won't be able to hurt you much financially, and that's what he usually used to win cases in the past?"

"Correct. I can just see what he'll say once he finds out he can't win in his usual manner. It should prove quite interesting. The other thing that will be interesting will be putting this judge's order before the court, I'd be willing to bet he'll go bananas once we show that."

Dr. Patricks whistled, then said, "What I would give to be there to see that jerk get his comeuppance! When are you in court?"

"At 9:30 AM on Tuesday, Family Court's Children's Division. I'm not sure which courtroom that is, but I'll likely find out after I leave here."

"Give me a call once you know what courtroom it is, if I can manage to swing a shift change, I'll be there to support you."

Seanna looked at the Doctor. "Why would you do that, you don't know me at all?"

"Seanna, I may not know you personally, but I sure as hell don't know many people who would do what you've done for Asemba here. That alone makes me want to help you, I know very well that this child is going to need a lot of medical and psychiatric care."

"You're right about the psych care, speaking of which, I need to find a decent child psychiatrist or psychologist for her, maybe for Leilani, too."

"I might be able to help you with that, I'll need to look through my contacts in those fields. Give me your number, I'll get you the info."

Seanna nodded, tore a small piece of paper off an envelope in her purse and wrote her name and cell number on it, then passed it to her.

Dr. Patricks took the bit of paper, stuffed it into a pocket, then knelt on the floor and looked at Asemba. "I know you've been through a lot, little one, but I think you can be strong, also know that this lady here will help you in any way she can, okay?" She pointed to Seanna.

Asemba nodded, still holding onto Seanna, "She heps me lots since yesserday, she's been wifs me through all those tests, and when I wokes up earlier upsets about that stuffs," she pointed at the papers Seanna was holding, "she helds me and listeneds to me, I likes her!"

"That's lovely, Asemba. I'm sorry, but I need to return to my work, I wish you all the best." She marched out the door, leaving Seanna and the girls sitting there. Seanna skimmed through the papers, then folded them, stuffed them in her purse, and led the girls out of the hospital.

**********

It didn't take them more than ten minutes to go from the hospital to the company offices. Seanna parked the car in the slot available for the CEO of the company, then helped the two girls out of the car before she locked it and they headed over to the elevator.

A few minutes later, they reached the seventh floor and walked over to the reception desk, where Seanna asked if Jackie was available. Patti rang through to Jackie's office, talked for a moment, then waved Seanna and the girls down the hall to Jackie's office.

Seanna knocked on the door, a yell from inside told her to come in, so she opened the door and led the children into the office. They were just about to sit down when Jackie herself appeared, said hello to them, then waved them all into the inner office, following them in.

Once they were in the room, Leilani whispered to Asemba that there was a gorgeous doll house here if she wanted to play. Asemba thought that was cool, and the two girls scampered behind the desk to the corner with the doll house, took off their jackets and began to play.

Jackie was surprised to see a second little girl, and immediately asked Seanna how she came to be responsible for this one.

"Well, after we left here yesterday, I wanted a coffee, I went to Di Panetti's Cafe, and walked in to see her getting slapped by her father," Seanna replied as she took off her jacket and hung it over the back of the chair she would be using, then sat down.

Jackie's eyes boggled. "Seanna, do you know that you've been on the news almost constantly since that happened? Damn, it's been on all the major news channels for the last 24 hours, and a bunch of the radio stations around here have been discussing it, too."

Seanna turned white as she heard what Jackie was saying. "You can't be serious, all I did was stop that jerk from hurting her again."

"Yep, that may have been all that you did, but it grabbed a heck of a lot of people's attention, let me tell you. Heck, I've even heard from a lawyer friend who works in the Mayor's office that they're recommending you for a bravery citation. Same at state level."

Seanna blanched even more than she had before, her face almost looking like paper, then fainted, sliding out of the chair onto the floor.

"Oh, damn!" Jackie sighed as she picked up the phone, dialled an extension and asked if they could send someone up to check Seanna out. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, then a man and a woman entered, both wearing standard nurses outfits. The man shoved the chair away from Seanna, then they both began to examine her, one checking pulse, the other that Seanna was breathing properly.

The girls had heard Jackie's remark, stopped playing and peeked around the end of the desk to see Seanna lying on the floor.

Seanna woke up as they were examining her, and complied when she was asked to just stay there for a bit longer. They continued to check her out for a few more minutes, eventually decided that she was fine and packed up their gear, then left the office.

The girls had watched as the two nurses checked Seanna; once they were assured that Seanna was okay, they returned to their play.

Seanna slowly pulled herself up and sat down in the chair, bringing it closer to the desk, then just sat there for a bit.

Eventually, Seanna shook her head, winced briefly, then turned to Jackie asking, "City and state? Why?"

"Why, she asks? Lady, you stood up to a man a heck of a lot bigger than you and stood your ground against him to protect a child. I'll bet you didn't even think of what could happen to you when you did that, only that she needed protecting and you stuck your neck out."

"What do you mean that I stuck my neck out?" Seanna asked.

Jackie shook her head, then answered her, "Seanna, with how big he is, he could have killed you as easily as hurt you. You're damn lucky."

"Oh, my. You may well be right, all I know is that she was being hurt, and seeing a child being hurt infuriates me like nothing else can."

"In a way, that little show helps us, in another, it hurts us, as it shows you can be provoked into actions that could go very wrong on you. Anyway, you came in here to let me copy the message that guy Singh from Child Services left on your phone, so where's the phone?"

Seanna reached for her bag on the edge of the desk, pulled the phone out, entered her voicemail code, then handed it to Jackie. Jackie followed the directions and listened to the message several times, then hooked the phone up to her computer and copied the message. She then took some time to make a few extra copies of the message, stored them in various locations, then handed the phone back to Seanna.

Seanna laughed and informed her that she might want to disconnect the phone from the computer first. Jackie did so, also laughing.

Seanna put the phone in her purse, then asked, "Do you think this message will need to be used on Tuesday?"

Jackie replied, "It's hard to say, it will depend on just what he does and whether he tries to use the transsexual angle at all. In any case, whether he uses that angle or not, if we bring it to the attention of the court, it could still cause him a lot of trouble."

"But more if he is the one to bring that out in the courtroom? Especially when he finds out I have so much money behind me?"

"Well, once he finds that out, he won't be happy. If he uses the transsexual angle at any point, the judge will not go easy on him."

"So we just go with the same plan as before, then?"

"That's right. Is there anything else you need to discuss with me?"

"I don't think so, I just brought the message in because you asked me to, to provide extra evidence, if needed."

"All right, then, Seanna, I guess I will meet you in the courthouse a little while before the court opens."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, what courtroom will it be in? I know nothing about the court system here."

Jackie skimmed through the file, then looked at Seanna and replied, "Children's Division is usually held in County Court, Room 215. Hmmm... perhaps it would be better if you came here about an hour before Court started and I could show you where it is."

"Okay, and what about the two girls? Should I arrange for a babysitter for them, or can they come to the courthouse, if not in the court?"

"The courthouse has a daycare area, but I think I can arrange for someone to be with them, and they could relax in the cafeteria."

"Okay, then I guess I will be coming here Tuesday morning. I'll see you then. Leilani, Asemba, it's time to go." She picked up her purse.

The girls ran out in front of the desk, each of them grabbing one of Seanna's hands as she prepared to leave the office. Seanna looked at the girls, then giggled and asked them where their jackets were, the two girls said "Oops!" together and ran to grab their jackets.

Jackie said goodbye to the girls as Seanna helped them into their jackets, then put on her own jacket; once they were all ready, the girls grabbed Seanna's hands and they went out into the hall, back to the elevators where Seanna hit the down button.

**********

They had to wait a few minutes before the elevator reached their floor, only to find out it was going up, not down, so they ended up waiting for about five more minutes before it returned to their floor. They stepped in and Seanna pressed the button for the first parking level.

The elevator made a few stops before reaching the ground floor, where everyone else got off, then they continued to the parking floor below.

As they exited the elevator and walked toward the car, Seanna asked where the girls wanted to go for food. Asemba shrugged her shoulders, deciding to leave it up to Leilani, who then grinned and asked if they could go to the fish place and give Asemba a real treat.

Seanna turned to Asemba, asking her if she had any food allergies, Asemba replied that she didn't think so, or at least didn't know of any.

Seanna smiled, the place Leilani had suggested was the one Seanna's mother had told her about and they had eaten at a few days before. "Okay, then, let's get you both in the car and we'll go there," as she unlocked the car doors and opened the back one. She spent the next few minutes making sure the two girls were secure, Asemba appeared to be having less trouble with the seat belt, which was good.

Seanna then closed the back door and walked around the car, then opened the driver's door, sat down and started the engine. She waited for a bit so the car could warm up, then backed out and followed the paths around to the exit, then out to the street. She had to think for a minute or two before she remembered the restaurant's location, when she saw the street was clear, she turned and headed for the restaurant.

Like the previous time, she managed to find a space not far from the doors, then let the children out from the back seat and locked the car before taking each child by the hand. They entered the restaurant, Seanna briefly letting Asemba go, then took her hand again and waited.

It didn't take very long before a hostess saw them and came to the front of the restaurant. "Table for three? Do you want chairs for them?"

Seanna already knew that Leilani didn't like using the chairs, but asked Asemba if she wanted one. Asemba looked over at Leilani and asked her if she wanted one; when Leilani said no, Asemba turned to the woman and said she didn't want one, either.

The woman smiled at the two little girls acting like big girls, then led them to a booth and let them settle in before asking about drinks. They all took off their coats, Seanna asked for coffee, and the girls both asked for juice. The drinks arrived a few minutes later.

Seanna and Leilani spent the next several minutes telling Asemba how much they had enjoyed the food here before, except for the caviar. When the waitress returned asking what they wanted to eat, they asked for the same platter as last time, without the caviar, and some fries.

While they were waiting for the food, Seanna asked Asemba what she liked to do, the little girl looked up at her, completely confused. Seanna then went on to ask her if she liked going to museums, or parks, or shopping at some of the malls around the city. Again, Asemba seemed confused, eventually Seanna found out that the little girl had rarely, if ever, gone anywhere, generally staying home all day, every day. The last few days had been a totally new experience for her, and they had been more terrifying than anything else, until Seanna rescued her.

The food arrived, and Seanna and Leilani showed Asemba how good seafood could be, she sampled everything on the platter while nibbling on the occasional fry. By the time the three were all full, the platter was almost completely empty and the fries had been demolished.

When the waitress returned, Seanna asked for what was left to be put into a container so they could take it home, then asked her to bring the bill as well. When the bill and leftovers arrived, Seanna paid and added a nice tip, then they put on their coats and left the restaurant.

**********

When they reached the car, Seanna unlocked it, then put Leilani in her seat with Asemba beside her as usual, made sure both of the girls were secured, then closed that door and opened the driver's door, sat down and started the car, letting the engine warm up first.

Seanna backed the car out of the space, then turned toward the exit and checked traffic both ways before turning onto the street. It was about a fifteen minute drive to the mall where she had bought Leilani's car seat, the girls were chattering away in the back seat.

Seanna was paying attention to the traffic around her, the chattering in the back seat was just a pleasant background noise. When she saw the signs for the store, she waited in the traffic for a chance to turn left safely, then did so and entered the store's parking lot.

It took a few minutes before she found a space not too far from the store's main entrance and parked the car, then turned off the engine. She got out, grabbing her purse, then let the two girls out, locked up the car and holding their hands, walked into the store.

She grabbed a cart, then had the two girls hold on to it as she wandered down the aisles to where the car seats were located. Her luck was good, the gorgeous man that had helped her the last time was not far away, she got his attention and he came over to them.

"Hello, miss, and what do you need today? Why, I do see that you have another lovely little girl here!" as he flashed his amazing smile.

Seanna giggled, she just loved his voice, that deep yet smooth tone made her shiver in ways that were all too pleasurable. "Actually, that's the problem, you see. I need another car seat for this little one," as she pointed at Asemba, "forest green again, please."

"You're in luck, we still have some of the forest green ones in stock, let me get one, I'll be back within ten minutes, miss."

Seanna smiled, assured him she wouldn't be too far from this spot, and looked around, noticing the toy department nearby. She grinned, looked down at the girls, then asked if they wanted to look at toys while they waited for him to return with the car seat.

Seanna let them look around, content to watch them while waiting. The girls wandered just out of her sight, then she heard an excited "Ooooo!!!" from Leilani, pushed the cart around a corner and saw Leilani and Asemba staring at a beautiful large doll house.

"I see that you found something you like," Seanna laughed. "Just where would we put that, I wonder?"

Leilani thought for a moment, then said, "My bedroom is too small, the only rooms big enough are your bedroom and the living room."

Seanna nodded, replying, "If you want it that much, I suppose we could rearrange the living room a bit. But that might not be for very long, Momma wants me to take a house in the community she lives in, it would give us a lot more space and be much safer, too. Moving there might also be a good idea considering what has happened in the apartment recently, it would give you a fresh start, Leilani."

Asemba listened to the two as they discussed the doll house, then asked, "Whats you means about da apartsment? Whats happened?"

Seanna let go of the cart, knelt down next to Asemba, held her and said, "Leilani's mother was badly beaten there, she died the next day."

Asemba turned to Leilani, grabbed her in a tight hug and held on as if she had no intention of letting go. "You losts your momma?"

Leilani, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks, nodded and clung to Asemba. "She was hurt real bads, and I couldn'ts do anyfing!"

Seanna shook her head, she knew that Leilani had called 911, and in doing so, had helped to get immediate medical attention for her badly injured mother. It wasn't her fault that the hospital hadn't been able to save her momma, they had done everything they could for her there.

In a way, the call to 911 had also led to the man who had attacked her momma being arrested, all because he turned the wrong way at the corner after hearing sirens coming down the street behind him, sirens that were directly due to that 911 call.

Seanna leaned forward, hugging both girls, then whispered to Leilani, "Love, you did everything you could, her dying wasn't your fault."

Asemba loved being hugged by this woman, she turned again to Leilani, saying, "You gots to 'splain everyting to me laters."

Leilani nodded and held on tight to Asemba and Seanna as she cried, releasing her sorrow over the loss of her mother.

**********

Leilani was still crying when Seanna heard that velvety voice behind her, "I have the seat here, miss, I'll put it in the cart." As he placed the box in the cart, he noticed Leilani crying while holding Seanna and Asemba and asked if they would be okay.

"I think she'll be okay in a moment, well, enough that we can go home. Would you mind coming back in a few minutes, I might need help."

"Help with what, miss?" he asked.

"With that lovely doll house there, Leilani here saw it and decided that she wanted it, that she would have it or else, so I'll buy it for her."

"That is a lovely doll house indeed, in fact, it is the last one of that model in the store. I'm sure they'll both love it."

Leilani heard him talking and looked up, waaaay up; when he smiled at her, she hiccuped twice and returned a weak smile of her own. She ran over to the doll house and hugged it, or at least tried to, as the doll house was nearly as wide as her outstretched arms, and a fair bit longer. He laughed as he saw her trying to hug it, then walked over and held his hand out to her. "Will you be okay now, little one?"

She grabbed his hand and he walked her back over to Seanna. "I'll grab that doll house and follow you to the check-out lines." Seanna nodded and once the girls were holding on to the cart, she made her way to the cashiers, followed by the man carrying the doll house.

The wait wasn't long, when her turn came, the cashier put a sticker on the car seat and the doll house; Seanna used the credit card to pay for the two items, then with the man following her carrying the doll house, she steered the cart over to the car. Seanna turned to him and asked, "Once the doll house is in the trunk, would you do me a favour and help me to install this seat, please?"

He nodded, waited for her to open the trunk, then looked at it for a moment before nodding again. "It's close, but it should fit." He then spent the next few minutes carefully lowering the doll house into the trunk, then gently brought the trunk lid down; he ended up taking another quick look to make sure it would close without harming the doll house, then pushed the lid down until it clicked. He then turned to the car seat, pulled a small knife from a belt on his pants, cut the wrapper from the seat, and waited for Seanna to open the car door.

Once the door was open, he lifted the seat into the car, positioned it next to the first one, and made sure it was properly secured.

"All ready for you, miss. Thank you for shopping here today, and I hope you and these beautiful little girls have a very good evening."

"Thank you for your help, and I hope you also have a good evening. Okay, girls, time to get in your seats, let's go." She smiled and waved at the man as he picked up the wrapping, then grabbed the cart and walked back to the store. Seanna turned and strapped the girls into their seats before stepping forward to the driver's door, opening it, and almost dropping into the driver's seat, she was running on fumes.

She started the car, then sat there relaxing for a few minutes before she started moving toward the exit to the street. As she reached the exit, while checking traffic, she asked the girls if they would be okay with just relaxing in the apartment tonight, maybe watching a movie. Leilani was still fairly awake, but Asemba was as tired as Seanna, they'd only had a few hours of actual sleep recently. A quiet night sounded good.

Seanna drove toward their current home, being a bit more careful than usual due to her being tired. When they were almost to the house, she spotted a Blockbusters and asked the girls if they wanted to go in and pick a movie or two, they enthusiastically told her yes.

She parked near the store entrance, turned off the engine, let the two girls out, locked the car, then led them into the store. They soon found the area displaying Disney movies and spent several minutes checking them out, deciding on Monsters University and Monsters, Inc.

Seanna giggled, took the two movies to the counter, paid the rental cost and with movies in hand, led the girls back out to the car. She unlocked the car, strapped the two girls in, closed the back door, opened the driver door, sat down, buckled up and started the engine. She waited a few minutes for the car to warm up again, then resumed the drive home, arriving there just over five minutes later.

Once again, after turning off the engine and getting out, purse on her shoulder, she released the two girls, then closed the door and locked the car. Holding Asemba's hand, she walked to the back door, where she briefly let Asemba go to unlock and open the door; she let the children enter ahead of her, then pushed the door closed and locked it before following them up the stairs to the apartment door, which she unlocked.

She opened the door and the two girls scampered in, taking their jackets off and throwing them on the floor near Leilani's bedroom. Seanna shook her head, walked over to the discarded coats, picked them up, walked over to the hall closet by the door and hung them up. She dropped her purse on the dining room table, then took off her own coat and hung it up in the hall closet next to the girls' coats.

She was tired enough that she had forgotten about snacks, yet her luck seemed to be good for once. In one of the cupboards, she found a couple of bags of fairly fresh potato chips, put some of each into separate bowls, then carried them out to the coffee table in the living room. She hadn't noticed any pop or juice in the fridge, but she figured they could make do with a jug of water for one evening.

She called the girls out to the living room, then popped Monsters University into the DVD player, turned the TV on and started the movie. As soon as they heard the sound come on, the girls ran out to the living room, jumping on the big sofa in front of the TV.

The next few hours passed in companionable enjoyment of the two films, the girls were full enough from their recent supper that they didn't even notice the chips on the coffee table until the first movie was almost finished. When it ended, and Seanna took that disc out, replacing it with Monsters, Inc, the girls were ecstatic at being allowed to stay up to watch it, and with chips in hand, were soon watching avidly.

Seanna had to stop the second movie briefly when the girls announced they needed the washroom; after a short break, the movie resumed.

Seanna was having a hard time staying awake, but she had been watching the girls and their enjoyment was infectious. By the time Monsters, Inc. finished, there were only scraps remaining of the chips in the two bowls, and the jug of water was less than a quarter full. She made sure that both girls used the washroom before they climbed into Sue's bed, they were wearing matching nightgowns, one in blue, one in silver.

Just as she was about to undress to go to bed, she remembered that the doll house was still in the trunk of the car. She left the bedroom, laughing quietly at having forgotten it, then went down to the car, opened the trunk, carefully pulled the doll house out and set it on the ground next to her. After closing the trunk, she picked up the doll house, walked to the door, entered the house, locked the door and returned to the apartment. She spent a few minutes shifting furniture in the living room a bit, then placed the doll house in one corner of the room.

A few minutes later, Seanna wandered into the bedroom, undressed and put on her nightgown, then joined the girls in the bed. Both of the girls were already asleep, so Seanna snuggled up fairly close to Asemba, eventually drifting off into the land of Nod herself.

**********

When Seanna woke up the next morning, the sky was still dark, although it was slowly fading into day. She looked at the girls, still sleeping and decided that she would spend the weekend showing Asemba ways that they could have fun around the city.

That day, Saturday, they went to a museum in the morning, then to a popular children's park with rides and other fun stuff near the city. They didn't return home until close to the girls' bedtime, everyone was wiped out, and a good sleep was had by all.

On the Sunday, she took the girls to see a community Nativity play, then they spent the rest of the afternoon in a mall, picking up a variety of clothes for Asemba before stopping in at a supermarket and stocking up on some food so they wouldn't need to eat out as often.

After preparing and eating a simple casserole, she let the girls watch TV for an hour before sending them off to bed. Once they were tucked in, she found one of Leilani's story books and read a bit from it until the girls were asleep, then relaxed for an hour before going to bed herself.