Last time...
Mom shook her head, "Not yet, that's tomorrow."

"Oh, it seems like that was at least a day ago." I said, thinking of all the times I'd slept since then.

"No, but John..." Mom said, trailing off worriedly.

"What Mom?" I asked.

Mom bit her lip and said, "Well, Mr. Donner was telling me what the bail would probably be set at and...well, Karen can afford that. She'll probably be out after her hearing tomorrow."

---

"What?!" I nearly screamed, spraying the water I'd just taken a drink of all over Mom. "How can they do that?!"

"That's the way it works honey." Mom explained while she cleaned herself off. "The prosecutor will try to get bail denied but it probably won't work. I'm filing a restraining order against her so she can't come near you or the house. It makes me glad the police are taking your protection seriously, though."

I nodded at that. I thought it was more to make me feel safer, but now I realized there might be more to it than that. They must have known this might happen, right? Being cops I figured they did. I was doubly glad they were guarding me now, but would they keep doing it until the trial?

Mom must have seen how worried I was because she hugged me and said, "It'll be alright. Someone will be with you at all times until Karen is safely locked away. I don't know if she'd really come after you or not, but I don't want you to worry."

"I don't know if she would either; I think she's gone totally nuts!" I said.

Mom nodded sadly, "I'm afraid you may be right. She's always had her problems but Karen has never done anything even remotely similar to this before."

We talked about other stuff while I finished eating. After a while I got tired again and dozed off.

---

Although the regular sounds of the hospital woke me up several times I still slept pretty good. I guess having surgery will do that for you. At least, that's what the doctor said when he came in to check up on me. He said everything looked good, though they'd want to do some more x-rays before I left to make sure everything was holding together alright.

I asked if that meant I could leave soon, but he said they wanted to keep me there one more day to be on the safe side. They'd do the x-rays in the morning and, if everything looked okay, I'd be able to leave by lunchtime. I hoped he was right, this hospital food really doesn't have much flavor! Breakfast was plain old corn flakes. I didn't even have any sugar to put on them! Mom promised to get me some real food for lunch, though.

Marcie and her mom finally came by around ten and she brought her DS along! That earned her a hug, which surprised us both. I never was big on hugs but it just felt like the thing to do, for some reason.

I got a surprise at lunchtime when Mom brought my lunch and Charlie. He seemed kind of uncomfortable, though, and didn't stay long. I asked Mom if he was okay and she just said he probably didn't like hospitals. I could understand that!

I was getting really tired of lying in bed all day, but at least I'd be able to leave tomorrow. Hopefully.

A while after lunch Mr. Donner showed up. He looked a little subdued.

"Hi Mr. Donner, what's up?" I said.

He walked in and took a seat next to Marcie, "Hi John. I just came from the courthouse. I'm afraid your aunt got bail as we suspected she would."

Marcie grabbed my hand when she heard that while my Mom took the other. "So, she could be on her way over here right now for all we know?" I finally said.

Mr. Donner laughed, "I doubt it! If she's smart, and I think she is, she'll stay far away from you until the trial. Besides the fact that your mom got a restraining order out on her, the defense she put together for herself would look pretty foolish if she tried to hurt you."

"What do you mean?" Mom asked. I was wondering the same thing. What kind of defense could she have?

He sighed, "Well, that's the worrisome part. She's not claiming that she didn't do any of the things she's accused of. Instead, she's twisting everything around to make herself out as the victim."

"How is she doing that?!" Mom exclaimed.

"Well, she's claiming that she was helping John become Joan because that's what he wanted..." he replied.

"WHAT?!!" I screamed, and then regretted it when it hurt. I think everyone had pretty much the same reaction, though. Paul and the police officer on guard duty both came in to see what was wrong and kind of hung out at the door after Mom explained things. I think they were as curious to find out what scheme my aunt was hatching as I was.

Mr. Donner waited until we'd all calmed down and then continued, "That's what she's claiming. She's also saying that John, though she always refers to him as Joan and she or her, became irrational and she had to start carrying that tactical baton around for self-defense. She even claims that she had to start locking John in the basement at night to keep him from stealing hormones."

I groaned, "I'm doomed!"

Marcie squeezed my hand, "I'm sure she won't get away with it. Right Dad?"

Mr. Donner nodded, "I'm sure she won't. The ADA is still pouring over all the evidence from her house, but he's certain there is plenty there to discredit her story. He would like to talk to John soon, though. He thinks that John might be able to point him in the right direction."

I nodded, "Sure, I'd like to make sure she doesn't get away with this. But...what happens if she is convicted? Will she go to jail for a long time, or what?"

Mr. Donner shrugged, "That depends on exactly what she's convicted of. She's muddying the waters enough that she might slip out of some of the charges. But even so she'll probably spend at least twenty years in jail after this, if not the rest of her life."

I thought about that for a bit. Did I really want her to go to jail forever? I mean, sure, she was a real... well, you know, to me. But what if she really is nuts? "Is she crazy?" I asked.

He shrugged again, "It's hard to say. She might have been abused as a child and this is some weird sort of lashing out because of that, or she could be completely crazy. I suppose the judge will have to decide that once she's convicted."

"But if she's crazy, she shouldn't just get locked up, should she?" I asked. "I mean, maybe they could fix her or something?"

Mom hugged me at that, "That's my boy, always worrying about other people!" she exclaimed tearfully. It was kind of embarrassing.

"You're really worried about her?!" Marcie asked incredulously.

I started to shrug but stopped myself just in time. I sure can't wait until I don't have to worry about that anymore! "Well, if she's sick she should get help, right? I mean, maybe then she wouldn't be so bad. And she is family, I guess." I said.

Mr. Donner frowned thoughtfully, "I suppose I could run that by the ADA. Maybe he could make a recommendation to the judge?"

There wasn't much more to say after that. Mr. Donner left to talk to the lawyer who was going to prosecute aunt Karen again. After that people were in and out all day. Marci stayed the most, but her mom insisted on her being home for dinner. That left just Mom and me for a while. I hated to even think it, but I still got a little nervous when it was just the two of us. Knowing Paul was nearby, and the policeman guarding the door, made it easier.

It was while we were alone that I finally thought to ask about how her trip went. She kept trying to change the subject, though. "Is there something wrong, Mom?" I finally asked.

She sighed and nodded, "I'm afraid there might be. We had a great time in Mexico and he was very understanding of me wanting to come back early to check on you. But after he came out to see you yesterday he seemed more distant. I'm probably just imagining things, though." She laughed weakly, so I figured she didn't really believe that.

I really didn't know what to say about that. I'd always thought Charlie was pretty cool! I'd thought maybe I'd get to call him 'Dad' at some point, but now it was starting to sound like I wouldn't.

After that we had trouble finding anything to talk about so she went back to reading the book she brought with her while I played on Marcie's DS.

---

I woke with the game still going sometime late in the night. I quickly shut it off so it wouldn't run out of power and tried to go back to sleep. It took a while. I kept thinking about what aunt Karen was saying about me, and whether she'd get away with it or not. And whether she was crazy or not.

I did eventually fall asleep again, and woke when Paul came in with breakfast. It actually had some flavor this time!

Mom had gone home after I fell asleep, so I was on my own for a while. Not too long, though, because they came to take me to get x-rays. That was fun...not!

After the x-rays they took me back to the room. I was really bored since Marcie's DS was too low on power to use. I wished she'd brought the power cord but I'd be getting out soon (hopefully!), so guessed it didn't really matter all that much.

Mom, Marcie and her mother all came in together just before the doctor did. He brought some x-ray pictures in with him and showed us where the damage was and where the metal plates and such were keeping things in place. He said it was holding up nicely so I could go home!

After Mom filled out some paperwork we were finally able to leave. I had to ride in a wheel chair, which sucked. Marci wanted to push it, but Mom insisted on doing it herself. I think she was feeling guilty about what happened.

Marcie and her mom followed us home and came in with us. Marcie fussed around me like I was an invalid or something, but really I could get around fine so long as I didn't move too fast. It still hurt if I moved wrong but I felt okay otherwise.

Mom was also a little annoying, always asking if I needed anything. She was offering pillows, soda, cookies and anything else she could think of. I really hoped she'd relax soon, and Marcie!

Mrs. Donner finally dragged Marcie out of there so they could meet up with Mr. Donner for lunch. Mom insisted on cooking something for me, even though she hates to cook. She's actually pretty good at it, but she says it gets old fast when you have to do it all the time. That's why I'd help out sometimes.

I wanted to help, but Mom refused. So I sat and watched TV until it was done.

After lunch Mr. Donner called and reminded us that the ADA, whatever that is, wanted to see me. Mom called him up and made an appointment for about an hour later. That left us with too little time to do more than watch some TV before we had to leave.

Apparently ADA stands for Assistant District Attorney, which just means he's the guy who is working on my aunt's case. Not defending her, though. She's got her own lawyer for that. Mom filled me in on the way over.

After asking a few people on the way we finally found his little cubicle in the busy courthouse.

Mom introduced us and he hurried to shake my hand, "John, it's so good to meet you! I've heard some really impressive things about you! My name is William Darvin, I'll be handling your case."

"Uh, thanks?" I said, a little overwhelmed. He was really enthusiastic!

He talked to Mom for a bit, then. Boring stuff about the case, mostly. Then he asked to talk to me alone for a while. She stepped out and he turned his full attention to me. "Okay, John, now I need you to walk me through everything that happened. I know you've already done this a few times, but I need to get all the details down."

I nodded and started in, again. He took lots of notes, even more than officer Daniels had! He also asked questions a lot. Finally I was done and he sat back. "John, there's a lot of evidence here. Not just all you've told me, but a lot of physical evidence, as well. I'm sure among all this there must be a smoking gun that will blow your aunt's story to bits. Your aunt's lawyer is pushing for a quick trial, so I don't have much time to put a case together. I was hoping you could help."

I shrugged, "Sure, if I can."

"Great!" he smiled. "Let me get some stuff out to show you." Then he started pulling out boxes with stuff in plastic bags in them. One of them had that baton thingy that aunt Karen hit me with. Another had a DVD disc!

I didn't have much hope that she hadn't deleted the good part, but I had to try. Mr. Darvin seemed pretty happy about it when he saw it! We came up with a plan for the trial and I couldn't wait to see the look on aunt Karen's face!

After that he brought Mom back in and he started asking me questions like aunt Karen's lawyer would to get me used to it. I broke down crying several times and Mom looked about ready to kill him. I told her it was okay, though, and she reluctantly backed off.

Mr. Darvin had some meetings he had to go to, and other cases he had to work on, so we left after that. I was exhausted, but happy. If our plan worked the way we thought, this was going to be great! Oh yeah, and he agreed to try and get aunt Karen committed instead of thrown in jail. I hoped it worked.

Mom seemed worried on the drive back home. At least, for the part of the drive I didn't sleep through. I was really tired!

Once we got inside I sat on the couch to watch some TV. A little while later Mom came in and sat next to me. She wrapped one arm around me and was messing with my hair with her other hand. It was a little annoying, but also kind of nice? Anyway, we sat like that for a while and I could tell she was worried about something.

"What's up Mom?" I finally asked.

She smiled fondly down at me for a minute before she finally answered, "I'm just worried about this trial. It looks like it's going to be really rough for you. And I'm also worried that Karen might get away with this."

I laughed a little before the pain stopped me. Then I had to take a moment to get my breath back before I could answer, "Don't worry about that Mom. Mr. Darvin has a great plan! It's a secret for now, though. He doesn't want anyone but the two of us to know what he's got up his sleeve so nobody can let it slip on accident or through their reactions or something."

"Are you sure John?" she asked.

I nodded emphatically, "Oh yeah, I'm sure! Trust me, Mom, we've got aunt Karen right where we want her. But yeah, the trial itself is probably going to suck. At least until we get to the good part." I knew I'd probably end up crying again when I testified, but I was willing to put up with the embarrassment. Especially knowing we had an ace up our sleeve!

---

To Be Continued…