March 4th 1983

Tracy had been pacing around Shelly’s place when two o’clock hit. Waiting impatiently for her brother to get there, so they could go down to Oroville. Her mother had already placed the bags of clothes for both of her kids, plus herself into Shelly’s van. Now all she had to do was deal with her pacing daughter. She knew that school was out and Persephone was bringing Vance home. But they had to wait for them to catch all of the girls, plus Stacey and Casey.This meant more waiting.

It was almost five o'clock she heard a rapid fire knock on the door. Maggie was up and caught her daughter before she could race to the door and fling it open. She gently opened the door to see Persephone, Sage, Rachel and ‘Romy standing there. Tracy slid to a stop by her side. They could see her VB bus and Brooke was at the back window, waving at Tracy.

“Harvey’s around back with Carl. Carl will take our truck, Harvey and Lilian will take the boys. I figure I’ll have the girls. You want to go with me, or Shelly? Lok said we could take Brooke, but he can’t cancel too many classes.”

"I'll ride with Shelly. So she has company too."

“Come on. Let’s get a move on. Your husband will be home by now. I doubt Conner and him want to move everything alone.” Shelly said as she headed to the door.

~o~O~o~

One more time the Patterson’s old house was filled with girls. Shelly and a couple of the parents were staying at Modine’s, while Tracy and her parents stayed in the old home. The U haul was already in the drive and partly loaded with the bigger items, like the sofa’s and beds. Conner had been loading the light things before the girls had arrived. When William got home at Two, he started to help too. When the girls had arrived, it was well past eight in the evening. The sun had set and the parents decided to wait till morning to start with the last of the stuff.

Dinner had happened at Nine, with some fast food from a local chicken place. After that, William gestured to the door and Tracy walked outside with him.

“Am I in trouble?” Tracy asked as they started walking down the road.

“Not at all.” William said as he put an arm around her shoulder. “I wanted to talk to you. I’ve heard you’ve had some hard times lately and wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

“Just sad is all.” Tracy said as they walked out the door.

"A lot of sad times, from what I've heard." He replied.

"I've been missing you and my friends up here." Tracy replied.

William didn't want to start a cry fest, so he ignored her friends comments. Instead he went to the reason he called her outside. “You know, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the first time I found out about Tracy.” Her father said as they walked along the road. He put an arm around her as they walked. His other hand held onto a bright flashlight.

“What do you mean?” Tracy asked, worried that he would stop her, after he had given her his blessing.

“I found out about you on Thanksgiving. That next morning, you were making me breakfast and you bent down to get something from the fridge and your shirt rode up and I could see the pink panties you had on. The ones with the little yellow flowers.” William shook his head. “It was at that moment that I realized that you weren’t the little boy I had raised. I wasn’t sure how to talk to you about it. I wanted to hug you and tell you I supported you, but I was still confused....”

“I was thinking about everything so much the next day or two, that I almost caused several accidents at work.” William stated. “I was so out of it, Steven sent me home. The next morning, I went to Livermore. I had made the choice to support you, but I had never thought about what you would do.”

William stopped a little ways from the old house and the two of them looked towards the back field. The sun was down already and her friends were all in the house, doing anything they could. “When Persephone met me at the townhouse, I was feeling a mix of emotions. Part of me wondered what you had told her, and then I realized you were scared of how I had been.” William reached up and wiped at his eyes. “When I looked in that vehicle and saw you lying there, crying, afraid of what I would do, it broke my heart. I knew you saw me as nothing more than an ogre. A monster. I vowed to myself that I would do what I could, but even then, I let you down.” He started her back towards the house.

“How?”

“Well, instead of moving then, you got attacked. Then I made a big fuss about money...” He trailed off and looked to the fields.

“Don’t Dad’s do that?” Tracy asked.

“It seems like it.” William said with a nod. “But what I am trying to say, is I should have put your well being first, not worry about money.”

“But you always worry about money. You always told us that it is better to save, then spend on pointless stuff.”

Heh.” William said with a chuckle. “At least you listened. Your brother still likes to spend.”

William turned to face his daughter, then he got down on one knee and looked her in the eye. “What I am saying is that I support you. We may have to tighten our belts for a while, till we can get out on our own, but when we do, I will do what I can to help you along with your new self. Is that good with you?”

“Yes Daddy!” Tracy leapt into his arms and hugged him.

“Now keep in mind, this isn’t me saying we’ll be at the mall every week, buying you all the clothes in the world, or music tapes every week, but I mean things like your medicine, your doctor visits. Stuff like that.”

“Thank you Daddy.” She said again, this time she leaned closer and kissed his cheek. “I need that more than clothes.”

“So grown up.” He patted her shoulder, then he stood up. “But for now, lets get back inside, before the girls get worried. We have a long drive and a move tomorrow, so you should get to bed early.”

~o~O~o~

March 5th 1983

Tracy stood in her now empty bedroom in the old house. Each step though the old wooden house seemed to echo now, a testament to how empty and lonely it had gotten after she had left. She looked around the room and in her mind, she could still see where her dresser had been just two days before. Then there was the bunk bed that should have been against one wall, with the bookcase at the end of that. She wasn't focused on the sounds of someone walking towards her. Instead, she was focused on the millions of memories of that room. The sights and sounds of her and her brother playing as children. The smell of the house on a cool Christmas morning as they woke up and planned their attack on their father, just to get him out of bed so they could get to the presents.

She wasn't sure when she had started to cry, till she felt the tears drip off her cheekbone. She wiped at her eyes with one hand, then turned and saw her mother and Father, in the doorway. Maggie put an arm around Tracy and William put an arm around both of them.

“I know baby.” She put a hand on her back. “Moving does this to ya..”

“So many years here. So many memories.” Tracy said.

William nodded as Vance walked around the corner. “What's wrong?” Her brother asked.

“Just thinking of the memories in the house.” William stated.

“Yeah.” Vance said with a nod. “I’ve been thinking too.”

Peter peeked into the doorway. “Mr. Patterson, Mrs. Patterson? The girls checked the cupboards and We got everything from the shed loaded into the....” As the four of them turned to face him, he saw the tears and he realized he was intruding. “I...I'm sorry, I'll wait outside.”

“It's okay, Peter.” Maggie said as she reached a hand out and pulled the bigger child over to her. “Come here.” She pulled Peter into a group hug with her and his daughter. After a few moments, she looked to Peter. “Everything's out?”

“Yeah.” Peter replied.

“Okay.” William looked to his daughter and released the hug. “Tell everyone to give us a few moments and we'll meet you all next door for lunch, okay?”

“Okay.” Peter said, then he slowly made his way out of the bedroom. They could hear him walking across the floor, till he reached the front door and left the house.

The Pattersons stayed in the doorway to the kid's empty bedroom, almost waiting for something. Her eyes went to the window and she saw something perched on the top of the window sill. Finally Tracy fought to hold back a slight chuckle, which was followed by a sniffle and the sounds of her choking back some tears.

“What's wrong kiddo?” William asked.

“Just remembering something. A few years ago, Mom bought Vance some hot-wheels for Christmas?” Track asked as she smiled at her family. “You tried telling Vance that it was rattlesnake eggs and had that thing in the box with them, so it rattled when he shook it?”

Maggie thought back, then began to chuckle too, wiping at her own tears. “He was so scared of that box. I had to open it for him. He always called that his snake cars.”

“Was not.” Vance grumbled.

“Yeah. You got him that tackle box and said it was the tank to keep them in.” Tracy said with a grin, as more tears fell. She walked over to the windowsill and reached up to grab it, but she was too short.

Maggie stepped over and picked up the car and handed it to her. “Yeah. That was a good Christmas.”

“They all were.” Tracy said with a nod as she passed the car onto her brother.

Her mother gave her one more hug. “Come on, before they worry about us.”

~o~O~o~

The U-haul was loaded, as was the truck that Sage's father owned. Some of the back of Shelly's van had the more fragile things. Several vehicles were lined up along the road, waiting for their passengers.

Tracy went to Peter and Jerry Rivers first and she hugged them. “Be safe you two. Know that I still care about my friends here.”

“We care too.” Jerry said as he got his hug.

As she hugged Peter, he bent down and kissed her lips. When he pulled away he tried to smile. “I'll miss you, but keep writing, I can get the messages back and forth for everyone.

“I will.” Peter replied.

She turned to the three Higgins children that had snuck over. Wally had gone with his sisters, to say goodbye to Vance and to make sure they had an alibi for their father. “Mary Beth, Emily May? I know we've barely hung out, but you're still my friends. I'll write every chance I get. I'll send them to Peter to give to you.”

Sage, and her Livermore friends had already given them hugs. So this left Tracy to say goodbye to each of them.

Finally she reached her Grandparents. “I don’t want to go.” She said as she hugged her grandmother.

“It’s safer for you this way. “ Modine said as she gently hugged the young girl.

“Yes. It is.” Conner held his arms open and Tracy fell into a hug. After a few moments, he patted her side. “Alright. You need to get going.”

She nodded. Tears were already running down her cheeks. She turned and walked with her parents to Persephone’s VW bus and climbed in. Brooke was loaded in and Tracy watched her friends and Grandparents stand there. As her parents closed up the last of the vehildres, Peter, Jerry and the three Higgins kids all got on their bikes. Due to the speed of the bus, Persephone was the last to leave the driveway. As she did, Peter gave chase on his bike.

Peter's legs pumped his bike pedals as hard as he could, doing his best to keep up with the van on the side road that used to lead to Tracy's home. They were almost halfway to the main road with he felt his chain come loose. His feet spun wildly as he began coasting. He started screaming in frustration. Wally Higgins and his sisters stopped by him as Tracy slowly rode out of his life.

Persephone kept driving as she watched Tracy turn in her seat to keep an eye on Peter as the vehicles began to pull away from him. Once he disappeared completely, Tracy began to sob and Persephone watched as Sage and Rachel pulled her into a hug. She wiped away a tear of her own, but she kept going, despite how it was tearing at her heart to separate the two young friends.

~o~O~o~

Peter got off his bike, then grabbed the center bar with one hand and threw it into a field that was next to the road. He started to walk away from the group when Mary Beth came running up to him and pulled him into a hug. He fought it at first, but finally he rested his head against hers and sobbed. “I know.” Mary Beth said as tears fell down her cheeks. “I know it hurts. We're going to miss her too.”

“Stupid Clark.”: He muttered. “Stupid town.”

“I know. Life sucks.” Mary Beth replied. “It’s just not fair.”

~o~O~o~

The trip to Marysville was a hard one for Persephone. Every couple of minutes, Tracy would start to cry again. The girls did their best to keep her from crying, but it seemed futile. Each time she cried, it tugged on Persephone's heart strings. Yet she knew she couldn't go back. Finally around Sacramento, they paused at a fast food restaurant for something to eat. While she didn’t feel like eating, Maggie didn’t give Tracy a choice.

By time they reached Tracy, the town, Tracy the girl was doing better.

As much as no one wanted to do it, they still headed to a storage place when they got into town, just before four in the afternoon. The kids were pushed off to the side, while the adults formed a line, making sure the unloading process was fast. Shelly was in the unit, helping orginize where things would be kept.

As parts of her life were placed into the storage unit, she couldn't help but cry again. Like this was all her life boiled down to. A few boxes in a small metal shed. Persephone did her best to calm the girl, until they were done. After that, it was decided to skip eating out and they traveled to Shelly's for delivered pizza.

~o~O~o~

Sunday March 6th 1983

Tracy was rushing down the steps in another dress. Her dress shoes in her hand and her purse strap over her shoulder. Maggie and William were both already waiting at the bottom of the stairs. “Um, is Vance coming with us?” Tracy asked, when she noticed her Aunt and Uncle were both dressed nicely.

Vance came down the steps in his nice dress pants and a dress shirt with a tie. “It’s just this week, right?” Vance asked. “I don’t have to go weekly?”

“Not if you don’t want to. And if you don’t want to go today you don’t have to. But the good thing is Jamie should be in your class.” MAggie told him.

“That’s good, I guess.” Vance replied.

“Keep in mind that after church, we are going to lunch with the Millers.”

Vance smiled at his parents and asked. “Will Sage be going to church with us?”

“No.” Tracy shook her head. “Just Rachel and Jamie.”

“Are Uncle Frank and Aunt Shelly going with us?” Vance asked.

“No, we have our own place to be, but we will see you back here tonight for dinner.”

The ride to the church was a fast one, now that William knew where it was. They got out of the car and the parents seemed to split with the kids as they entered. Vance followed Jamie and Tracy down the hall. Tracy ducked into a side door with Rachel and Vance kept following Jamie.

“Tracy! You came back!” Halley exclaimed.

“Yep.” Tracy replied.

“You look tired.”

“We are. We moved the last of the stuff yesterday. We’re beat.”

“I’ll bet. You have a house?”

“Not yet. We’re staying with Rachel’s Aunt and uncle still. But soon, when Dad and Mom get jobs, we’ll start looking for an apartment.”

A teacher stepped out and called to the girls. "Alright everyone. Step on in for class."

Jamie patted Vance's shoulder as Tracy and Rachel stepped into the side class room.

~o~O~o~

Once again Tracy sat with her parents as the preacher went through his sermon. It was another one about helping others and being there when needed. After the service, William kept a hand on both his kids, as they waited for the crowds to thin. Finally when it was clear, they headed for the door. There they were met with the preacher.

Ian smiled at the Pattersons. "Welcome back, William, Maggie.” Reverend Banks said to William and Maggie, on their way out. “We missed you last Sunday.”

“Well, we decided to change our moving date and we moved everything up this past weekend and Tomorrow, I will start looking for work.” William stated. “The last job was looking for any reason to fire me and I just couldn’t stand to be away from my family.”

“All good reasons to move.” Ian Banks said. “Tell me, who is the young man? Is that your son?”

“Yes, this is Vance.” William turned to face his son. “Vance, this is Reverend Ian Banks.”

“Hello sir.” Vance said.

“Are we going to see you here each week?”

“Maybe sir. I may come.” Vance replied.

“Very good. Well, it was wonderful to meet you and we hope to see you next week.” Ian said, holding out a hand for Vance, which he shook.

“Hello Tracy, I heard you had a bit of excitement last week?”

“Yeah. From that lady in the courthouse to seeing family in L.A. it was bad and good.”

“At least its going away.” Pastor Ian said. “Your black eye I mean.”

“Yeah. Now if the other things will go away.” Tracy grumbled. This left Ian feeling slightly confused.

~o~O~o~

March 6th 1983

Lewis Horton had taken the time out of his busy Sunday to see his daughter once more. She had been locked up since Friday and he wanted her out, so he went to the Mental health building in chico once more and waited at the door.

“Hello, I am here to see my daughter, Molly Hallmark.”

“She is here, just a moment.” The voice on the speaker said. They were buzzed in and after a few moments, they saw their daughter come over to them. She looked tired, and a bit angry. The three of them sat down on a nearby couch and began to talk. While they visited, Lewis formed a plan in his mind. He just had to speak to the head doctor, not one of his lackeys. So when the visit was done, Lewis sought out the doctor in charge.

“Excuse me, Doctor Forest?”

“Yes, it was Mr. Horton, right?”

“Yes. Reverend, actually.” Lewis corrected him.

“Ah, then reverend, how can I help you?”

“I’d like to have Molly released to me, and I’ll keep up on her care.

The doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry sir, but I can’t release her into your custody.”

“I am here father and an upstanding member of my community.

“But you are not from Chico and we have our orders. We can not release her.” Doctor Forest knew he had tired the same thing the week before. He had met this type of person many times before. Someone who thought they were above the system.

“This isn’t fair! You can’t do this!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way sir, but our hands are tied. We are only holding her until she is able to be transferred to the county jail. We can’t release her to anyone.”

“Fine, two can play this game.” He said, turning to head to his car. He pushed his way through the locking doors and out to his car. Unaware that his departure had caused some of the guards to stand at the ready, in case he tired to remove Molly. His wife jogged to catch up with him. “Lewis, dear, what are we going to do?”

“Go to the court and petition a judge to let Molly free.” Lewis said. “She’s innocent. I can feel it.That monster of a child is to blame for all of this. We’ll just have to make those court idiots see this. With any means possible, before he hurts someone.”