Part 20

    Danielle couldn’t help blushing when she saw Lianna checking out her body dressed in just the bra and panty set Lianna had made her put on, even though she’d only just put clean on earlier in the day after taking a nice soak in a hot bubble bath.

    “These will help you feel better while Gran is telling you off.” Lianna had said when Danielle questioned the need for a change in her underwear. Danielle had worried that Gran would have her stripping off her clothes for some reason, but all those years in foster care and strange punishments had made her think like that.

    “They do feel much nicer than the set I’ve just taken off.” Danielle said as she realised that this new set had a much silkier feel than the plain cotton set she’d just removed, but even that set had felt much better than anything she’d managed to steal while living in the foster homes. Danielle started stroking her breast through the fabric of her left breast as she spoke to Lianna.

     “I wish I knew what that felt like.” Lianna said with a sigh as she lifted her hand to her breast, but could only feel a slight pressure on her chest where she was pressing the breast form into her chest. Lianna longed to be able to feel the touch, just like she new Danielle was right now.

     “I’m sorry Lianna.” Danielle said feeling sorry for her best friend when she remembered that Lianna’s breasts weren’t real. “I forget that your breasts aren’t real, they look it.” Danielle said trying to make Lianna feel a little better, but deep down she knew that only time and surgery would make her feel better about whom she was.

     “Don’t be sorry Danielle.” Lianna stepped over to where Danielle was stood and wrapped her arms around her while she was still dressed in just the underwear. “I forget myself most the time, but seeing your cute female form just makes me wish I was just like you, and not the way I am.” Lianna added with another sigh as she hugged Danielle close.

    Danielle also let out a sigh as she felt the warmth of Lianna’s body dressed in a nice pink top and denim skirt, brush against her bare flesh. “I think you’re a very pretty girl Lianna.” Danielle whispered in her ear just before she gave Lianna a kiss when she turned her head to smile at Danielle’s kind words.

    Lianna was just about to say something just as nice to Danielle, but a knock on the bedroom door and the door opening before either one of them had time to shout a reply, put an end to all thoughts of how much the two girls were in love, when they saw Becky enter the room with a smirk on her face that said she knew what the two of them were doing.

     “Why aren’t you dressed yet Danielle?” Becky asked with a gasp. “I thought Lianna was going to help you? That normally means you get ready faster.” Becky added as she stepped over to the bed and picked up the dress that Lianna had helped Danielle pick out.

     “Sorry Aunty Becky, but I got distracted by the need for clean underwear.” Danielle said as she was flustered by nearly getting caught kissing one of Aunt Becky’s daughters, not that her excuse sounded much better than the truth.

     “And why do you need clean underwear to go and get told off by your Gran?” Becky asked trying to hide a grin as she raised an eyebrow at the two blushing girls, who were now looking at each other trying to come up with a reason using just their eyes. “Never mind! We don’t have time to talk about it now.” Becky added when she saw that both girls were having trouble coming up with a believable reason other than the truth, which neither girl looked ready to own up to.

    Danielle was only too happy to move on and not try to explain Lianna’s reason for wearing her best underwear. Danielle also liked having some help to get dressed, or to just have some company full stop, but the warm feeling in her chest every time she looked at Lianna was by far the best feeling Danielle had ever felt in her short life.

     “How do I look?” Danielle asked as she looked at her Aunt Becky and Lianna who were stood smiling at her looking proud with their handiwork.

     “Beautiful.” Becky said with a smile.

     “Amazing.” Lianna said in a dreamy voice as she also smiled at Danielle, now dressed in a white dress and white sandals.

    Danielle couldn’t help blushing when she heard what Lianna said, and the way she was looking at her. “Thank you.” Danielle said shyly.

    Becky looked down at Lianna, and was about to say something, but thought better of it, and decided to lead the two girls back down stairs to finish getting ready to walk around to Mable’s, so she could have a word with Danielle about not running away. Becky had already warned Mable not to be too hard on the girl, due to her having such a rough time of it so far in her life, the last thing she needed was more people shouting at her.

    Holly was still in the kitchen when they got back down stairs, but Prue had left again, but not before Holly made her and Kim a pasta and rice salad to take with her. Prue had said she needed to call in and get them both some lunch on the way back to the surgery, but Holly had everything already made in the fridge, so she made Prue sit back down and wait while she put two tubs together for them. Prue wasn’t going to complain about having some of Holly’s cooking, as she knew Kim wouldn’t complain either. They both knew that it was Holly that taught Chrissy to cook as well as she does, and it always tasted nicer than the stuff they got from the local sandwich shop.

     “Your nana Prue asked me to give you both a hug, and to say she’d see you again soon, just hopefully under much happier circumstances.” Holly giggled as she gave Danielle and Lianna a hug each. “And here’s another one from me, just so you don’t start liking your other nana better than me.” Holly giggled some more as she gave each of them another hug.

     “I love both my nanas very much.” Danielle said as she clung onto Holly as she enjoyed all the love she was now getting in her life.

    Even after less than a week of being shown more love than she’d know her whole life, Danielle was finding it hard to work out how she coped this long living life without it. She also found it hard to believe she was silly enough to try running away from it as well.

     “I love you both equally as well nana Holly.” Lianna said, not wanting to be outdone by Danielle, as she got a hug from her nana.

     “I’m glad to hear it.” Holly smiled with pride. “Now be off with you before your Gran starts telling me off for keeping you from her.” Holly added as she walked them all to the front door.

    Danielle looked like she’d rather stop at home and help her nana Holly in the kitchen, but she knew that everyone seemed to jump when Granma Mable told them to. This is another reason that Danielle was worried about going to see her again so soon. Danielle had taken the money her Gran had given her the day before and put it back in her pocket, so she could hand it back, thinking she didn’t deserve it after what she did. Danielle had thought the money and backpack lost in the alley where the homeless people attacked her, but her Uncle Brad had brought it in out off his truck before he left with the kids in the minibus to take them to school that morning. She’d had it drilled into her that only good children deserve gifts, and so she thought that trying to run away was a very bad thing, so she should return all the money she’d been given. Danielle would start by giving back the money that Mable gave her, and then she would hand all the money back to her Aunty Jane the next time she saw her.

     “Don’t look so worried sis.” Lianna smiled as she took Danielle’s hand in her as they started walking down the drive and up the pavement towards their Gran’s house.

    Becky was happy to walk just behind as she watched the two girls walking along hand in hand. Even though Becky thought the two of them were a little young to be getting so close to each other, part of her couldn’t help thinking that she wished she’d had someone like Lianna to lean on when she was Danielle’s age. Becky could see the way Lianna and Danielle looked at each other was the same way her and Chrissy looked at each other, she just hoped that it stayed that way for them.

     “What will Gran do to me Lianna?” Danielle asked as they walked along.

     “Depends on her mood.” Lianna warned using a creepy voice. “She may lock you in the cellar with all the spiders and rats, or she may lock you in the stocks and whip your bottom until you can’t sit down for a week, or...” Lianna had to stop speaking then because Danielle had stopped walking and was now trying to walk backwards, which made her bump into Becky.

     “What’s wrong sweetie.” Becky asked when she saw the look of horror on Danielle’s face as she started shaking and trying to break free so she could run off back down the road towards home. “What did you say to her Lianna?” Becky asked with anger in her voice when she saw that Danielle was too scared to speak.

     “I was just playing around with her mum.” Lianna said looking worried when she saw that she’d really scared Danielle. “I didn’t mean any of it Danielle. I thought you’d realise that, sorry.” Lianna said close to tears as she thought about how upset she’d made Danielle.

     “I don’t like dark places, and I don’t like being hit with things either.” Danielle got out between sobs. “I don’t want to see Gran now, please let me go back home.” Danielle pleaded with Becky.

     “Your Gran isn’t going to do anything like that to you Danielle.” Becky said as she knelt down and pulled the shaking child into her for a much needed hug.

    Danielle just gripped on to Becky like she never wanted to let go for fear of them things being done to her. Lianna was left feeling horrible for what she’d said as a joke. She and the other kids joked like this all the time, but Lianna had no idea just how much of that stuff had been done to Danielle for real.

     “I’m sorry Danielle, please forgive me.” Lianna snuffled as a tear ran down her cheek.

     “Just give her a couple of minutes to calm down honey.” Becky said as she held Danielle in her arms. “I’m not sure what you said to Danielle, but some of it has really been done to her.” Becky explained. “Danielle hasn’t had the life you and your brothers and sisters have had, far from it.”

    Danielle soon found herself a filling in a hug sandwich as Lianna was now sobbing as she hugged Danielle from behind. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again.” Lianna said as she made a promise to protect Danielle with her life.

     “No one will ever get the chance to hurt her like that again sweetie.” Becky also promised.

    They finally broke the hug when Danielle had stopped shaking, and she was trying to sort herself out, but Becky had to breakout the tissues and do a quick clean up with some makeup before they were ready to start moving again.

    Danielle was hoping that Lianna would want to hold her hand again, but Lianna was too busy trying to work out how people could do things like smack a child, or lock them in a dark place just to scare them. Lianna was soon snapped out of her dark thoughts though, when she felt someone take hold of her hand, she looked over and saw a smiling Danielle looking back at her.

     “Sorry for acting like that sis.” Danielle said with a playful pout, as she tried to play down the drama.

     “I’m the one that’s sorry for being so mean to you just now. I had no idea something like that had really happened to you. Lauren and I try to scare the others, but just for fun.”

     “I was never locked in a cellar with spiders, but I was locked in a cupboard with them.” Danielle said in a matter of fact way. “And I’ve been slapped with a leather belt and a slipper.” Danielle added.

    Danielle soon found herself being hugged by Lianna as she hoped to hug all the bad memories out of her new sister. “You’re so brave to have put up with all that.” Lianna said as she hugged her.

     “Not that brave. I ran away remember?” Danielle pointed out with a giggle as she hugged Lianna back. “You helped me see that I wasn’t a total freak when you stuck up for me that day.” Danielle added as she tried to help Lianna feel a little better about what she’d just found out.

     “I’m beginning to think that taking the car would have been a better idea.” Becky chipped in as she broke the two of them up and started walking again with Danielle one side and Lianna the other. “At this rate, I’ll be the one getting told off by your Gran.” Becky added looking worried for a second or two, just before she started grinning again.

    They soon found themselves walking up the drive to Mable’s house, where Lianna seemed a little too quick to push the doorbell, or it just looked that way to Danielle. Danielle was left wondering if her Gran had been stood behind the door waiting for them, as it seemed to open almost right away.

    Mable stood in the doorway looking at Danielle with a sad disappointed look on her face that let Danielle know she’d let her Gran down with her actions.

     “You better come in.” Mable said to them all, but Danielle got the feeling it was aimed more at her.

    They all entered the house and Becky led them through to the dining room and then she helped the two girls to take a seat before going into the kitchen, so she could put the kettle on and make a pot of tea for her and Mable. While the kettle was boiling, she sorted out two glasses of juice for the girls.

    Danielle had sat with her head looking down at her own lap, but she still saw her Gran take her seat out the corner of her eye. Danielle wasn’t sure if she was suppose to apologise first or what, but she thought it wouldn’t hurt to break the ice, or get the ball rolling, as she’d heard some grownups say.

     “I know I did a bad thing Gran, and I’m very sorry for all the worry I know I caused the rest of the family. I also know that I’ve let you down and don’t deserve this.” Danielle pulled the money out the pocket of her jacket and slid it across the table to where her Gran was sat looking at her.

     “What makes you think you don’t deserve this?” Mable asked as she picked up the money off the table. “I hope you realise that giving back a gift can be seen as an insult.”

     “I’ve always been told that only good children get presents, so I can only go by what I know.” Danielle said looking worried that she might have just made her Gran even madder with her.

     “And this would be the same people that kept sending you from one home to another.” Mable said with a raised eyebrow, like she didn’t put much faith in anything they had to say. “So for starters you can put this back in your pocket, and I’m ordering you to go and spend it on something fun.” Mable took hold of Danielle’s hand and placed the money back in it before she wrapped Danielle’s fingers around it to make sure she got the message.

     “Thank you Gran.” Danielle said as she put the money back in her pocket again.

     “Now we need to talk about the reason you ran away.” Mable said once Danielle had finished putting the money away.

     “It was my fault Gran.” Lianna said before Danielle could think of something to say in her defence. “I was angry with Danielle for keeping her secret from me, and then I made things worse by becoming jealous of her condition.” Lianna added looking proud to be drawing some of the heat away from Danielle.

     “I still shouldn’t have run away though Lianna, but thank you for trying to stick up for me.” Danielle smiled as she took hold of Lianna’s hand under the table. “I got scared that everyone would end up hating me, just like I thought Lianna did, so I just decided to run away.” Danielle explained.

     “I hope you now realise that this family doesn’t think like all those other people you’ve had to deal with in the past.” Mable asked. “If you have a problem with someone, then go and talk to them about it, or get another member of the family to sit down with you and them, so it can be aired.”

     “I’m sorry Gran.” Danielle said with some shame in her voice. “What will my punishment be?” Danielle asked looking nervous now.

     “I think you’ve had enough punishments to last a life time my dear, so I’ll let you off with a warning this time.” Mable smiled at the girl. “I hope that you’ve learned a lesson out of all this as well Lianna?” Mable asked as she looked at Lianna now.

     “Yes Gran. I know it was wrong of me to treat Danielle like I did.”

     “It is for saying she still wanted to stand up for you and Lauren, which I’m not happy about the two of you going behind your parents backs like you did.” Mable said with a point of her finger. “They don’t make up rules just to be mean to you, they do it to keep you safe.” Mable added.

     “We did find Danielle and help her though Gran.” Lianna pointed out hoping to score some points for it.

     “That is true Lianna, but it could have been a very different story if someone had worked out you’re not what you appear to be.” Mable frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you found my newest granddaughter, but it still doesn’t make what you did right.”

     “I’m sorry Gran.” Lianna smiled at Danielle as she said it, happy that she did something wrong and found the girl sat next to her.

     “I take it the two of you are friends again now?” Mable asked, but already knew the answer by the way they looked at each other. It reminded her of how Becky and Chrissy use to look at each other, and still do.

     “Yes Gran, the best of friends again.” Lianna grinned. “I was given the day off school so I could keep an eye on Danielle and make sure she didn’t have any trouble because of the bump on her head.” Lianna added as she wrapped an arm around Danielle’s shoulder and hugged her.

     “That’s good to hear.” Mable smiled. “How are you feeling now anyway Danielle? I hear you had a good go at knocking some sense into yourself.” Mable added with a little giggle.

     “Other than feeling very foolish for running away in the first place, I feel much better again now, just a lump on the side of my head.” Danielle said as she held her hand up over the area where she’d banged it on the side of the bin the night before. “I was grateful for the necklace and the watch, so daddy and Uncle Brad could find me so fast.” Danielle added with a shudder as she thought about what could have happened.

     “Very true my dear and you were running off to become just like them.” Mable pointed out the path Danielle was running right towards with running away like she did.

    Danielle opened her mouth to argue that Mable was wrong, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised that there was a very good chance she would have ended up living in a cardboard box, or more likely dead. This thought made a chill run down Danielle’s back as she gripped Lianna’s hand even tighter under the table. Danielle was snapped out of her chilling thought when she heard Lianna speak.

     “Uncle Carl said Uncle Brad actually threw two of the men attacking Danielle down the alley.” Lianna sounded quite impressed with what her Uncle Brad had done.

     “Your Uncle Brad was about ready to kill them all if your Uncle Carl hadn’t made him go with him, so they could get Danielle to the hospital.” Becky said as she entered the dining room with a tray of drinks.

     “I’m sure they will all think twice before they try to attack another little girl after meeting Brad.” Mable chuckled at the thought of him throwing a couple of men around. “That boy may be built like a brick outhouse, but he has a heart just as big to go with it.” Mable added with pride.

    Becky was serving up the drinks, and was worried just how Mable was about to phrase the saying, but was glad when she said outhouse and not shit house like most people said. Danielle and Lianna soon had their glasses of juice, and her and Mable were soon enjoying a cup of tea while they got Danielle to tell them all a little more about her adventure the night before.

*****

    Chrissy was busy sorting out some reorders while lost in thought over what Lianna had ended up making Danielle do, but she’d lost track of it all for the umpteenth time and let out an angry sigh.

     “What’s wrong sis?” Amy asked as she rested her chin on Chrissy’s shoulder as she looked over it.

     “I don’t seem to be able to focus on work today.” Chrissy said as she threw the clipboard down on the counter.

     “You worried about Danielle and what could have happened to her last night?” Amy asked, knowing that Chrissy would be worried about something like that.

     “Yes, but I’m more worried about failing as a parent and letting Lianna drive Danielle into feeling the need to run away like she did.” Chrissy said as she had to dab her eyes to stop her makeup running. “Mandy must hate me right now for not getting Lianna under control.” Chrissy added looking worried now.

     “Mandy could never hate you sis, and you’re an amazing parent.” Amy argued. “Lianna was just upset because Danielle never told her about her secret, and then Lianna was just jealous when she found out Danielle was a girl after all.” Amy added as she pulled a now weeping Chrissy into a hug.

     “Do you really think I’m doing okay as a parent baby sister?” Chrissy asked feeling more like the younger sister at the minute.

     “No! I said an amazing parent.” Amy giggled. “Get it right.” She added in a stuck up sounding voice which soon had Chrissy giggling as well.

    Mandy picked that minute to return to the shop after popping out to pick up a couple of special order items they needed for a changing service order. What’s wrong?” Mandy asked as she ran over to where Amy was stood hugging Chrissy.

     “Sis is worried about you hating her for not having better control over her daughter and putting an end to the trouble between Lianna and Danielle before Danielle ran away.” Amy said as she handed Chrissy over to Mandy for another round of hugs.

     “You can be such a fool at times sis.” Mandy said as she hugged Chrissy. “I thought you seemed a bit to quiet since we first got to the shop.” Mandy added with a sigh as she hugged Chrissy even tighter to her. “I don’t hate you, or even blame you for what happened. Lianna has a lot to deal with, and Danielle is even more messed up about everything right now.” Mandy said as she broke the hug and made Chrissy look her in the eyes to make sure what she said was sinking in.

     “I just wish I could have seen what was going to happen, and stopped it from getting that bad.” Chrissy whined.

     “In a way you all ready did.” Mandy smiled. “If you hadn’t liked running away so much yourself, then we never would have thought of fitting all the kids with trackers, then we would never have found Danielle so easily.” Mandy pointed out looking on the bright side.

     “Thanks, I think.” Chrissy said with a puzzled look as she tried to work out whether or not what Mandy had just said was meant as a compliment or not.

     “You’re welcome baby sister.” Mandy grinned as she gave Chrissy another quick hug. “Danielle is doing fine again now anyway. Mum called and said she’d called in to check on her, and Becky was helping her and Lianna get ready to go around and see Mable.” Mandy added with a worried look.

     “Mable won’t be happy with Danielle for running away and nearly getting... God knows what done to herself.” Chrissy said as she remembered how upset Mable had been with Chrissy the two times she ran away from Becky. The first time when she thought Becky was leaving her to go out with Vic, but that had turned out to be Becky getting a fancy night planned so she could propose to Chrissy. Then the second time was when Becky had been working with Prue behind her back trying to get pregnant using some of Chrissy’s frozen sperm. Chrissy had found a testing kit and thought that Becky had slept with a man behind her back trying to get pregnant. Chrissy had run away and not been found for nearly eight weeks that time. It was that which led Carl to get the tracking chips designs and fitted into a large number of items Chrissy owned, not that Chrissy ever tried to run away again after that.

     “Speaking of things from the past, I think you two need to sit down with Danielle and tell her about your pasts and where the kids fit into it all.” Mandy said as she looked at first Chrissy and then Amy.

     “Becky was just saying last night while I helped her get ready for work that Danielle had been asking some questions.” Chrissy said with a sigh.

     “We need to show Danielle that we don’t have secrets in this family, and she is not on her own with all this stuff she’s going through.” Mandy pointed out her reason for Chrissy and Amy coming clean about them both being born into the wrong bodies.

     “I think we should invite Cathy over for dinner tonight and then we can all sit and tell Danielle our stories together.” Amy offered as an idea. “Chrissy will need to start the ball rolling though, or mine and Cathy’s stories won’t make any sense.” Amy added with a grin.

     “Cathy telling her story will lead to Danielle finding out about me running away and stopping with her for a week though.” Chrissy pouted.

     “That may help her bond with you a little more.” Mandy smiled. “I see a lot of Danielle in you anyway.” Mandy added with a giggle.

     “They both have the knack of running away down to a fine art.” Amy giggled just before she had to make a run for it, as Chrissy ran after her.

    Mandy just stood and watched the two of them running around the shop. Mandy was glad the shop was empty at the minute, not wanting to look so unprofessional in front of the customers. Mandy could only guess that Chrissy had finally caught Amy in the back room when she heard Amy’s giggles and squeals as it sounded like Chrissy was tickling her sister. Amy was extremely ticklish, something that they all enjoyed taking advantage of. Sadly Jessica was just as ticklish, which she also suffered for at the hands of the other kids. Mandy was glad to see Chrissy and Amy both giggling and looking much happier when she entered the back room.

     “I’ll put the kettle on to make a drink while you call and let Cathy and Sara know about this evening.” Mandy said as she walked over to where the kettle was.

    Amy looked all excited as she realised she’d get to speak with Amber. Amber worked with Sara, so Amy would call Amber and then get her to let Sara know about this evening. Chrissy grabbed her mobile and made the call to Cathy while Amy called Amber.

    Cathy always called in at the house after work to pick up Peter anyway, and Amber would just bring Sara home with her when they finished at the studio Sara had at her home. Peter always came back to the house to play video games with Richard and Craig anyway, so he had other kids to play with until it was time to go home with one of his mothers.

     “Hi Chrissy.” Cathy’s voice said on the other end of the phone when Chrissy called her. “I know you said you were going to take young Danielle under your wing, but did you really feel the need to teach her the art of running away?” Cathy asked with a giggle.

     “Hey! That’s not funny.” Chrissy whined back down the phone.

     “Yes it was.” Cathy replied with more giggles.

     “Okay it was, but I didn’t teach her anything like that.” Chrissy pointed out with a pout. “She just got scared and ran away.”

     “How’s she doing now anyway? Brad said she hit her head pretty hard last night when she was trying to get away from some homeless men. When he called in to pick Peter up for school this morning.” Cathy asked sounding more concerned for Danielle’s well being now she’d had her little joke with Chrissy.

     “She’s doing much better now. Prue called in and gave her another check over, and Lianna is keeping an eye on her for us all. Becky was dragging the two of them around to see Mable according to what Mandy had found out.” Chrissy explained.

     “I can’t see Mable being very happy with her for running away.” Cathy said with some dread in her voice.

     “You know how Mable likes to let us all know she’s keeping an eye on us.” Chrissy said it in such a way as Cathy could just imagine her stood there rolling her eyes.

     “You make it sound like you’re not scared of upsetting her Chrissy.” Cathy pointed out.

     “I’m not that stupid, Mable scares the life out of me when she’s not happy about something. She only has to look at me in that special way she does when you think you’ve done something wrong, and I’m ready to leave again.” Chrissy admitted.

     “Me to, so what did you call me for anyway girlfriend!” Cathy asked sounding all bubbly again.

     “Danielle was asking Becky some questions about how she and I first met, and I think it would be good for you me and Amy to sit down with Danielle and explain to her what we all are.” Chrissy explained her plan.

     “That’s an easy one.” Cathy giggled. “Three super sexy girls looking for a good time.” Cathy added with more giggles.

     “I was thinking more about the time just before we became three super sexy girls that were out looking for a good time.” Chrissy said with a giggle of her own as she used Cathy’s words for what the three of them now were.

     “Oh that boring old part.” Cathy said it like no one would be interested in hearing any of that stuff.

     “Yes that part.” Chrissy said like an angry mother talking to a child, but she was soon giggling again. “I’ll throw in dinner as well.” Chrissy tried to temp Cathy, not that she’d need much tempting to begin with.

     “You can count on me being there, but I’ll need to call Sara and make sure she doesn’t have anything planned for dinner herself.” Cathy warned.

     “Amy’s on the phone to Amber now, and she’s giving me the thumbs up, so I think it’s all sorted and I’ll see you this evening for dinner and a chat with Danielle.” Chrissy said with a happy tone to her voice. Chrissy loved entertaining guests for dinner, as did her mother.

    Chrissy said her goodbyes and then ended the call and made another call to her mum at home to let her know that Cathy and Sara would be joining them for dinner and about the planned chat with Danielle about their past. Becky was still round at Mable’s, so Chrissy kept the call short and was soon feeling much better and was being helped by Mandy to restock the shelves.

*****

    Carl was just looking over some paperwork before meeting with a couple of people wanting him to invest in their company, when he got a call from his assistant to say a man from child services was here to see him about Danielle, but the man had used Danielle’s male name of Daniel.

     “Send him in.” Carl said into the intercom with an evil smile on his face, happy to finally be meeting with someone face to face about what had been done to Danielle since she was placed in the foster care system.

    It was only a minute before a middle aged man in a cheap ill fitting suit burst into the room and stormed over to the desk looking very angry with Carl over something. “Are you Carl Wayne?” The man asked like he was talking down to someone beneath him.

     “Yes I am, and it’s Mr Wayne to you.” Carl said as he stood up and spoke with such force; the man had to take a step back looking worried for a second or two. “What is the meaning of this visit?” Carl asked, not giving the man time to recover, or even bothering to find out his name.

     “I’m with child services, and I’m here to inform you that Daniel will need to come with me and return to the foster home where he was placed.” The man told Carl.

     “No.” Carl told the man straight out, leaving him with his mouth open in shock at being told such a thing.

     “What do you mean ‘no’?” The man asked. “Did you not hear what I just told you.” He added.

     “Yes I heard what you said, and I told you ‘no’.” Carl repeated in a calm voice as he pushed a button on the intercom and asked his assistant to get his legal team to come to his office right away, and to bring all the information about Danielle with them.

     “I hope you realise that I’m within my rights to just remove Daniel from your care, and this is just a courteous call to let you know what I’m about to do.” The man said as he started to lose his temper with Carl.

    Carl just unnerved the man as he smiled, like he knew something this man didn’t. “I think you better get your supervisor on the phone and ask him, or her to get over here right away.” Carl said as he picked up the handset off his desk and handed it to the man so he could make the call.

     “I don’t need my supervisor with me to collect one child.” The man said as he pushed the handset away again.

     “Very well, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Carl said as he took his seat again and carried on looking through the paperwork like the man wasn’t still in the room.

    The man finally took a seat and waited for this legal team to arrive, so he could get the child and be on his way. What the child care worker didn’t know was that Carl had had his legal team tracking down every little bit of information they could find for Carl to use against the system that had failed Danielle so badly, and he’d been given plenty to use against them.

    Carl answered his phone when it rang, and he told his assistant to send the legal team straight in. The child care worker looked worried when he saw a group of six people enter the room loaded down with paperwork.

     “Did you bring the court order with you?” Carl asked the man that looked to be in charge of them all.

     “Yes we have it right here Carl.” The man said as he handed Carl some paperwork.

     “This is a court order placing Danielle in my protective care until the adoption has been finalised.” Carl said as he passed the paperwork over to the child care worker. “And this is a notice that I am going to be suing the childcare system for the lack of care Danielle received. Are you sure you don’t want to make that call now?” Carl asked as he watched the colour drain from the man’s face when he saw the amount that Carl was going after.

    The man made the call and had a worried look on his face as he explained what was happening. The man had to hold the phone away from his ear when the person on the other end started shouting. Carl did make out that the person was on their way before the line went dead and the man handed the phone back to Carl before sitting back in the chair and being very quiet as he waited for his supervisor to arrive.

    It was another twenty minutes before the man’s supervisor showed up looking just as angry as the first man had when he first arrived. Carl had carried on talking to his legal department and making notes as he looked through all the information they had uncovered while they waited.

    Carl was soon showing the supervisor what he’d uncovered with the help of his legal team, and then he showed them the medical paperwork from the tests, this proved beyond any doubt that Danielle was really a girl, but was born with a birth defect that left everyone thinking she was a boy until she started to develop like a girl.

     “I hope you understand that we have so many children to deal with, that some just slip through the cracks in the system.” The supervisor said nervously.

     “I thought the fact that Danielle had been sent to no less than thirty one different foster homes, and some of the carers even sent letters explaining the need for medical tests to determine the nature of the medical problem might have raised a couple of red flags.” Carl said through gritted teeth as he tried to remain calm. “I am also looking into the treatment Danielle received at some of the homes she was placed it, as I found some of the punishments to be barbaric!” Carl snapped as he finally lost his temper with the two men sat facing him and his team of legal people.

     “I can assure you that all the homes are checked, and the children are never harmed.” The supervisor tried to argue, but Carl knew when someone was trying to bluff their way out of something, and this man wasn’t even very good at it.

     “We’ll soon find out, because I have my team looking into each and every home Danielle stopped in, and I plan to contact as many of the other children who stopped in them to ask how they were treated.” Carl informed them. “I think the public have a right to know just how bad the child care service really is.” Carl added as he closed the large folder sat on the desk in front of him.

     “What is it you want us to do, to make this all go away?” The supervisor asked looking even more nervous now.

     “I don’t expect you to do anything but your job.” Carl said it like he was talking to an idiot. “none of this would be happening now if this nasty little man hadn’t burst into my office and started barking out orders, but now I plan to look at every little detail and then see that everyone who turned a blind eye to what was going on are all made accountable for what they did, or didn’t do.” Carl informed the man in a very calm voice.

    By the time Carl was done with his show and tell, the supervisor said he couldn’t see any problem with Danielle being adopted by Carl and Mandy. He even signed the paperwork that gave the two of them the right to act in Danielle’s best interest when it came to her having the surgery she needed to fix the defect.

    The care worker didn’t look happy as his supervisor led him from the room at the end of the meeting, but Carl didn’t look too bothered about it. Carl was just glad that he and Mandy could now help Danielle to have a proper life and get the treatment she needed.

*****

    Danielle looked much happier on the walk home from Mable’s to how she’d looked on the walk there. She was almost skipping down the road hand in hand with Lianna as they made their way home again to help Holly sort out dinner for everyone.

    Holly sent Danielle and Lianna upstairs to get changed into some older clothes so they could both help out with dinner, Holly then informed Becky that Chrissy was going to tell Danielle about her past, as was Amy and Cathy, so they would have a couple of extra mouths to feed.

    Becky was glad that Chrissy was going to tell Danielle about her troubled past and how the two of them first met. Becky also knew that it would help Danielle bond with them all, being told such a thing, and also finding out that Chrissy used to like running away as well.

    Danielle and Lianna were soon back in the kitchen helping to get things ready for dinner.

To Be Continued Next friday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK

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Child and Parent guide:

Parents	Children
Chrissy & Becky	Andrew/Lianna, Lauren (Twins)
Amy & Amber	Jessica
Ann & brad	Jennifer
Sara & Cathy	Peter
Mandy & Carl/Carla	Craig, Danielle (Adopted)
Jayden & Callum	Richard, Nicola (Twins)
Dan & Faith	Penny, Christopher

    EDITORS NOTE: Please Comment and/or leave Kudos and let Sara know you like her work please, Any comments on spelling, grammar or the layout of the story please PM me “Samanthak” not Sara. Thank you