“Yes. Well, first of all, when the doctor got the results of Tracy’s blood test back, there was an issue. And her ultrasound thing.” Maggie said as she passed Shelly a baked potato, and took one for herself. She pushed the plate to her son. Tracy was serving Shelly a slice of meatloaf.

“The results from like two weeks ago?” William asked.

“Yes.” Maggie nodded.

“What issue? And does it pertain to Tracy’s....emotional problems?”

“It does. In fact, it was a big cause.” Maggie said. Tracy had passed her father the potatoes and Vance was getting a slice of meatloaf. Tracy had made enough for a second one, in case someone wanted seconds.

“The report they sent about Tracy’s hormone level that first time was wrong. They sent a copy of a boy with a similar name, he goes to Doc Addams too. They mixed up the results. Doc Addams found it and realized that on the eighteenth, Tracy got a second dose. Now it isn’t enough to start puberty, or so he thinks. But they are stopping the hormone shots.

“A second dose? Where did the first one come from?”

“Tracy.” Maggie stated.

Here's another Tracy. This one is a bit longer and we got some trouble brewing, hence the cautions.

March 24th 1983

Lewis Horton and his wife stood in Judge Andrew Joseph Olsen’s office. The judge was the Godfather to their grandchildren, Scotty and Robbie. He also happened to be the son of June Olsen

The Horton’s were only there because no matter how hard they tried, the entire county refused to release Molly into their care. And a private talk with her, one that they had finally been able to get, at the mental health facility uncovered a bunch of information, including a way to get her out of there and possibly punish the evil child in Molly’s town.

“We want the charges on Molly dropped and that stupid restraining order taken away too.”

“You need to take this up with the District Attorney’s office. I’m not overseeing that case.” Judge Olsen said. “I’m in the traffic courts, not in the criminal. courts”

“No, see we know that you’ll help us, or we’ll ruin your career.” Mr. Horton stated. He flashed a smile that wasn’t anything good. Judge Olsen was sure this was the look that snakes give before biting people.

“Lewis, I can not do anything. I am not a part of that case. And again I'm in traffic courts.”

“How about this? You get Molly out of that jail, or we have Amy Smith go to the papers and tell them how a family court judge slept with her and impregnated her, when she was just fifteen years old. Think you’ll still be sitting there, lording over people after that happens?”

Fear flashed across the Judge’s face, but he tried to get his poker face back, but the Horton’s had seen it. “What are you talking about?!?”

“You know what I am talking about. You slept with a minor, just so she could get a lesser sentence and now she is pregnant. I also know that in February, she was here to tell you that she was pregnant and Molly overheard it. I also know that if you refuse, we take her to the papers and we watch your life go down in flames.”

“You’re crazy.” Andrew muttered.

“Oh, we have a plan and we can get the finger of blame taken away from you.” Lewis said. “But first, you need to get Molly released into my custody. And I want it done today.”

~~~~****~~~~

Tracy went into Doctor Addams’s exam room. It was just past three in the afternoon. After about ten minutes there was a knock at the door and Doctor Addams stepped in, then he held the door and asked. “You don’t mind Ivan being in here as well, do you?” As far as she knew, this was a last minute appointment. Again. But it was to tell her things they found out after her last appointment. And the inclusion of her therapist was amazing.

Tracy shook her head. She sat on a bed, while her mother sat in a chair by the bed. “We’re okay.” Maggie said. Clearly something big was found to include him. Ivan went to a far corner of the room and leaned against the wall. William had wanted to be there, but he had been called into a temp job for the day.

Doctor Addams spoke up. “Okay. We found some stuff. The Ultrasound was good. And we also got the second set of blood tests back.” He placed it on a white screen and turned a light on. “This here shows Tracy’s insides. This is her ovaries and her uterus.”

Maggie’s head popped up. “What?”

“Ovaries? Like real girl parts?” Tracy asked.

“Like honest real girl parts.” Doctor Addams replied.

“There’s no chance the test is wrong?” Maggie asked. She knew if it was, Tracy would be crushed.

“We'd like to do an exploratory surgery, just to check and see the status, before we do much more. Then down the road, if Tracy wants this, we open the uterus up and maybe she even has a monthly cycle.” Both Tracy and her father blushed. “Would you want that? And I mean you have to be sure, little lady.”

“I’m sure.” Tracy stated.

“Tracy, this is important. We will do some more counseling sessions, but we need to make sure that you’re okay with becoming a girl. Once done, there may be no going back.” Ivan told her. “By law, we have to do this.”

“Doctor Ivan, I’d rather be dead than a boy.” Tracy echoed something she had said a few months earlier.

“I get that. But we need to do this to the letter of the law. Plus if we work it right, you may get the military to do it.” Ivan told her, looking at Maggie as he covered the last part.

“So how did we not know this? Why was her first blood test showing she was a boy?” Maggie asked.

“That’s on the lab. I have another patient with almost the same first and last name. The lab mixed the paperwork and I am at fault for not seeing it at first.”

“You’re at fault?” Tracy asked. “But I want to be a girl. So everything is great.” She looked to her mother. “Isn’t it?”

“How is this even possible?” Maggie asked. “I know Sage has it, but how is this even a thing?”

“Well, honestly, She has something close to what they classify as a micro penis. It’s a bit bigger, but not by much. And maybe, just maybe Tracy’s testicles were never good. It’s too late to tell. All of that was destroyed months ago. But keep in mind this is all guess work.”

“So what does this mean for us?” Maggie asked

“Well honestly this makes things better. With an ultrasound, and if we can get the right person, we may be able to get the military to do the surgery so it’s no bill for you.” Doctor Addams said to her.

“And this means that Tracy’s life is going the way she wants to.” Ivan stated.

Tracy smiled. “Cool.” Then she looked at Doctor Addams. “How are we gonna make me a girl then?”

“It will take a surgery and there is a man in Colorado that we can get out here for that. If the Army won’t do it.”

“Do you think they would?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know.” Doc Addams said

Ivan just shrugged. “First time I’ve had a case like this with military people. So we shall find out.”

~~**~~**~~

When Tracy had arrived at her aunt and uncle’s home around four, she had started cooking dinner. Her father was out, working a temp job. She was told he would be back, roughly when Frank was. She had already gotten some stuff and was making a favorite for her family. Meatloaf and baked potatoes. She was hoping to time it so Frank was there as well. She was going to wait and surprise the girls on the trip to Disneyland.

Her father and Frank both arrived shortly after five thirty in the evening. Tracy was pulling the meatloaf's out of the oven as her father stepped in. “Hey Dad. Dinner in a few. Uncle Frank just went upstairs. We’re having meatloaf. It'll be on the table in a few minutes.”

“Good. I’m starving.” He said with a smile. He headed for the stairs. “Just give me a few minutes to change.”

After a few minutes, Frank and William had come downstairs and the food was on the table. Frank sat at the head of one end of the table and Shelly was at the other. Maggie sat to Shelly’s left. Across from her was Tracy. On Frank's left and Tracy’s right side was William, with Vance in the final seat, between his mom and Uncle Frank. There were two meatloafs on a plate that was closer to Frank's seat. Baked potatoes, butter, sour cream and chives was near the ladies. In the center of the table was a bowl of steamed broccoli. There was a store bought pie on the kitchen counter, as they didn’t have the time to make one after the appointment. And while Tracy was worried about gaining weight, this was going to be the last meal with all six of them for the next week, and it was a day to celebrate.

As it was their home, Frank too the first slice of meatloaf, then he moved the plate to William

Before anyone could ask, Maggie decided to break the news. She could see her daughter was bouncing in her seat. “William, we had an interesting day today.”

William asked as he pulled a slice of meatloaf. “Really? How so? Was it what the Doctor wanted to talk to you about?” He pushed the pan to his daughter, who took a small piece.

“Yes. Well, first of all, when the doctor got the results of Tracy’s blood test back, there was an issue. And her ultrasound thing.” Maggie said as she passed Shelly a baked potato, and took one for herself. She pushed the plate to her son. Tracy was serving Shelly a slice of meatloaf.

“The results from like two weeks ago?” William asked.

“Yes.” Maggie nodded.

“What issue? And does it pertain to Tracy’s....emotional problems?”

“It does. In fact, it was a big cause.” Maggie said. Tracy had passed her father the potatoes and Vance was getting a slice of meatloaf. Tracy had made enough for a second one, in case someone wanted seconds.

“The report they sent about Tracy’s hormone level that first time was wrong. They sent a copy of a boy with a similar name, he goes to Doc Addams too. They mixed up the results. Doc Addams found it and realized that on the eighteenth, Tracy got a second dose. Now it isn’t enough to start puberty, or so he thinks. But they are stopping the hormone shots.

“A second dose? Where did the first one come from?”

“Tracy.” Maggie stated.

“What do you mean?” William raised an eyebrow, shaking his head, as though that could make him understand better.

“We went to a specialist that Doc Addams suggested and she ran an ultrasound last week. Doctor Addams had the results too.....” Maggie paused for a moment.

“What? Is it bad?” William had grabbed a potato and he placed it on his plate.. He looked at his daughter, who was smiling very brightly.

“Not exactly, but it is better than good.” Maggie said with a grin

“Dad, I got girl parts!" Tracy said, a huge smile on her face.

“What? Like your chest?”

“No, William.” Maggie paused to look at the rest of the people at the table. “Sorry everyone, but I need to get this out there.” She continued. “She has a uterus, ovaries and other parts. Or at least they said she has them. The images are hard to see. They want to do a surgery, to see if there is a possibility of cancer, but to also see how much of the parts are there. And Doctor Addams said they can do a surgery to open the vagina.”

Frank had ignored what they had said, William got a bit squeamish, but then he had to know his next question. “But what about the testicles? What about what got crushed?”

Maggie went into explaining what she had learned from Doctor Addams and what he had found out from the Doctor in Oroville. By time she was finished. William was tapping his finger on the table and looking at Tracy, shaking his head in surprise.

“Well?” Maggie asked him, after several minutes of silence.

“Well, this sure changes things.” He said with a nod.

“I know.” Maggie agreed, nodding as she said it.

“I have a thought. Could we get the doctor to speak to a military doctor? If we have to do a surgery, we can get it done that way and save some major money.” William offered the idea

“Yeah, I was thinking that as well. Ivan said he wasn’t sure if they could cover that.” Maggie said with a nod. “Hospital stays can get pricey.”

“Hospital stay?” Tracy asked. “Again?”

“Well, if they open the passage, then yes. But even for surgery too.” Maggie said, turning to face her. “See, from what Doctor Addams said, they need to make sure that neither your ovaries or any of your male parts could be cancerous. So they have to take a sample. That means they have to operate on you, but I will make sure that Disney happens first.”

“Ewww.” Vance said.

“Well, this is good news and it really means that we need a three bedroom place.” William said.

“Yeah.” Tracy replied with a nod of her head.

“Let’s table this talk for now. Please.” Shelly said. “But this does mean you can attend school next year.”

“Yep.” Tracy said with a grin. “And I get to do it with my friends.”

~~**~~**~~

That night as Tracy lay in her bed, she couldn’t go to sleep. Vance was already snoring. Tomorrow would be a huge day. With her court date to legally change her name and the trip to Disneyland, she was going to be busy. But her mind kept going back to what she had learned. She was a girl. A real girl. And she could finally live like one. The world was looking up. She had already done her packing for the trip, as had everyone else. She had even helped Vance with dishes. And she had been able to watch a little of MTV as they did dishes.

From downstairs, she could hear her parents and godparents talking softly. “We need to find a place. One with at least three bedrooms and close to here.” Her mother said to their father.

“Yeah. At least in the same school systems as both the Miller kids.” William replied. “Maybe I can get full time at that place I’ve been at twice. I think they’re about to fire some people. It’s not fancy, but maybe there is a good place where the Millers live.”

“I was thinking that. Most homes are going to be expensive and take both of us to pay for.” Maggie’s voice came back

“You know we will help any way we can.” Shelly stated. “And before you fight it, William, you can’t do everything alone in life.”

She could hear her father’s voice. “Yeah, I know.” She was shocked that her father wasn’t fighting it.

“Well folks. I need to go to bed. I got to work in the morning.” Frank said. “I hope you all have a safe trip to Disney.”

Tracy tried to stay up a bit more, but her eyes had begun to get heavy.

~~**~~**~~

Friday march 25th 1983

Tracy waited for her turn with her parents. It seemed all the cases in the morning had parents with lawyers. But they were being called in alphabetical order. Lance was to her side as they got called, and her parents were right behind her. Ivan and Doctor Adams were with them as well and suddenly she began to worry that her name change would get ignored, and she would have to live as a boy. She was glad that for the most part, the courtroom was empty and they were the last people in the group that had been called at Ten thirty. Of course it was only a group of four. The first two had gone quickly. The third case took a bit of time. Finally Her name was called. Her parents stood up, as did she. They followed Lance up to the podium. She paused to look in the seating area and was glad that no other people were left in there.

It started with Lance covering the reason for the visit. She tried to keep up with the legal speech, but it was all over her head. She could understand parts of it, like Lance saying she wanted to change her name and her birth certificate. After a few minutes, she thought she was going to be called, but Doctor Ivan stepped up and began speaking.

Most of what Ivan said she understood, all she could keep thinking about was what if she couldn’t get the name change. What if the Judge said she had to be a boy. She bit her lip and absentmindedly played with her hair.

Then when Doctor Addams told the court about her female parts, and how they were maturing. She blushed and tried to not think about it. How her inner workings were being made public knowledge. Then she heard the judge clear his throat.

“Young...um lady” Judge Rayne stopped and he looked at Tracy. He pointed to the stand with the microphone. Her mother tapped her shoulder to get her attention. “Tracy, could you stand closer to the microphone?”

“Yes sir.” She said, A bailiff came over and pulled out a stool for her to stand on. This brought her almost to the same height as her mother.

“Now, do you understand what is going on here?” The judge asked.

“Kind of, your Honor Sir.” Tracy replied with a shrug. “I don’t know the legal words, or the big medical words, but we are getting my name changed.”

Maggie looked at her. “And change your birth certificate to read female.”

“Yeah and making my papers say girl.” Tracy said to the judge.

“And you are okay with this? Do you want this? All of what is happening to you?”

Tracy looked to Lance who chuckled. “You weren’t listening?” Lance asked and Tracy shook her head.

“Too many huge fancy words. I got confused.” Tracy admitted.

Lance looked at her, but smiled. “As you know, your doctor found out that you’re a girl inside, so we’re just getting the legal papers to show that too. Name and birth certificate”

“Yes sir. I am positive that I want these changes. I want the name changed too.” Tracy said, looking at the judge.

“Why? I mean is there any chance you want to still be a boy?” The judge asked.

“Your Honor, sir, for years I have felt like a girl, but at one point, I thought it was like a release, something where I could imagine my mean brother and my father didn’t exist. I’d sneak off to mom’s closet and wear her clothes when I thought no one was home.” She looked at her dad and blushed because she was bearing so many secrets. “See, Sir, I thought they both hated me and when I got beat up, My brother defended me. And Dad has been behind me since I first told him I was a girl. Now with what's inside me, I feel I knew somehow, all along, and now I want to be complete, inside and out.” She paused for a moment, then she added. “Sir, if I had to be a boy again, I would do anything I could to stop it. I never want to be a boy again. I don’t want to live if I had to be a boy again.”

The judge heard her, but continued asking other questions. “And you’ve been living like this for how long?”

“Since February.” Tracy replied.

“Actually....” Maggie said as she stepped forward. “Tracy has been Tracy most of the time since at least last August. When she was home, and William and his father were gone, Tracy would stay at my Mother-in-law’s house and spend the day as Tracy. The Monday after Thanksgiving she started being Tracy all the time when home and she hated going to school as Troy. When she got put into homeschooling, she was Tracy full time, all under the watchful eye of Doctor Ivan Krenshaw.”

“I see.”

“And you want your legal name to read Tracy Kristen Patterson?”

Tracy nodded again, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Yes sir. I want it more than anything. This way I can go to school with my friends next year.”

The judge nodded slightly, Then he frowned as he looked down and he wrote something down, pausing to look at the clock. Then he took a leap of faith. “Then, by the power vested in me, from the state of California, at the time of eleven twenty, on March the twenty-fifth. In the year of nineteen eighty three, I approve your name change. Young lady, as of now, you are Tracy Kristen Patterson. I am also approving the petition to change your birth certificate. Counselor, you may have a bit of a hurdle because she was born in another county.”

“She was born on a military base. But we’re ready to fight each step, sir.” Lance said to him.

Tracy’s eyes sparkled with delight. Between going to Disneyland and the name change, she was on top of the world. She started to bounce in place and almost slipped off the stool, but her dad put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling.

“Relax, don’t fall.” William said.

She waited for the legal part of the proceeding to finish, but soon it was over and her joy had to come out. Tracy turned from the space she had been standing at with her parents and Lance. She was so excited that her name changed that she couldn't help but launch into a cartwheel, while in the courtroom. This was followed by a backflip. William called after her. “Tracy, not in here!”

But as Maggie looked to the judge, the fear that Tracy could get in trouble for treating a courtroom like a playground, she saw him laughing and shaking his head. He gave them a wave of her hand to show he wasn’t going to call her back and with the display, he knew he had made the right decision. The court reporter chuckled and shook her head.

When Tracy was back on her feet, she looked to her Dad. “Sorry, I was really excited.”

“So I see.” William said with a chuckle. “Let's save the celebration for Disney, okay?”

As the room was emptied, the court reporter looked up to the judge. "There is no way in the world that she was a boy.".

"I know. Kinda reminded me of my daughter when she was that age. Including cartwheels in a courtroom."

“I must admit, I don’t know much about the world. But that was no boy in a dress.” The bailiff said with a shake of his head.

~~**~~**~~

William and Maggie led Tracy, who was dancing out of the courthouse, much to the amusement of the people passing by. As she got outside the courthouse, she saw Harvey walking towards them, with Casey and Stacey. Tracy darted towards them and caught Stacey in a running hug.

“Is it approved?” Stacey asked.

“Yep. I'm Tracy Kristin Patterson as of today! And my birth certificate will read female too!” Harvey quickly translated for Casey, as Stacey and Tracy were jumping up and down, while hugging. When he finished, Casey joined the bouncy hug.

“Well congratulations, Tracy. But I think we need to get to Livermore. We got to pick everyone up.” Harvey said.

“Where's the wife?” William asked him.

“She went to Persephone's earlier, with Shelly, to load clothing.”

“Why did you come here?” William asked as they headed for William’s car.

“Well, Stacey’s school is just a couple of miles from here and I knew that you should be done by now. So I thought I’d see how it went before we headed to Livermore. Already got the girls' stuff packed for the trip.”

“Well, I'd like to make a stop, on the way out of town.” Maggie stated. “Beth said she would have my paycheck ready by noon.”

“So the deli and the bank?”

“Please?” Maggie asked. “The bank is right near there, in the downtown part of Livermore. Shelly knows I want to get it today.”

“I think we can do that. Plus with a deli, the girls can get something real to eat, instead of the snack foods” Harvey said. “Do you two need to get your son?”

“No, he is walking home with Moony and Jamie. He will meet us at Shelly’s place. We loaded all our clothes into Shelly's van earlier.”

“Can Tracy ride with us to Livermore? Please?” Stacey pleaded.

“I guess, if Maggie and William don't mind.”

“We don't.” William said. “Besides, we have Lance, so he gets the back seat to himself.”

“I get to feel important.” Lance said. “My choice of seats. I'll be like a rich man, riding in style.” He exclaimed, almost childlike, to which everyone laughed.

Doctor Ivan walked with them to the car. “Well, young lady. Have fun at Disneyland and don't forget your schooling. Next year you can now join Sage, Rachel and Brooke at school.”

“I know.” Tracy beamed with joy. She reached out and hugged Ivan. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Now you better get going, before Mickey decides to close the park for the week.”

“Young lady, you have fun.” Doctor Addams said with a smile and Tracy hugged him too. “When you return we’ll work on getting you looked at and setting up the surgery.”

“Awesome!”

Something seemed off to Marcy. Molly was standing at the front door to her home. As far as she knew, the court date had not happened yet. So how she got out was beyond her. Lionel was gone on a trip and she was to watch the boys for a few days. But now Molly was there and insisted she could take care of everything.

“It's okay. I’ve been let go and all the charges were dropped.” Molly said as she led Marcy to the door. “I’ve got this. I need some time with my boys.”

The boys came home from the half day of school and were surprised to see their Grandparents' car in the drive.

“Mom!” Robbie ran over and jumped into his mother's hug.

Something ate at Marcy the whole way home. She had known about the attack and somehow, Molly getting out early just seemed fishy. She just didn’t know what to do. Lionel was out of the country for a work conference and would not return for at least a couple days. She had no idea what to do anymore.

Either way, she had to call him.

William's car pulled up to Shelly's, taking one of Shelly's normal parking spots. To his side he could see Lilian's suburban and Shelly's van, Plus they had added Lynn's van at the last moment, for more storage. They were all gathered in front of the vehicles. Sage, Rachel and Brooke joined Stacey and Casey with Tracy. Jamie just stood with Mooney, and Vance

“Well?” Sage asked.

“It’s approved. I’m a girl on paper and my name is legally Tracy now!” Tracy said as she started to bounce in place. Her friends, except for Brooke, joined her. “And guess what? That doctor’s appointment yesterday? The doctor said I have all the female stuff in me, like Sage does!” They began to bounce again.

“Cool. So next year you get to go to school with us?” Brooke asked.

“Yep!” Tracy bounced some more.

~~**~~**~~**~~

Tracy and the girls all piled out of Lilian's truck. As they stood around, another vehicle pulled up and Persephone turned and looked, then smiled at the passengers in the vehicle. She tapped her sister on the shoulder, who also looked. “Sage, Moony, ‘Romy, Stacey, Grandma and Grandpa Baker are here. Your Aunt Agnes too.”Sage grabbed Casey’s attention, then the Miller and Parker kids went running off to see their grandparents and Aunt.

The large group headed from the back parking lot and around the building. They headed into the entryway of Big Mama's bakery and deli., passing by a few tables that had been placed outside so people could enjoy the good weather. Maggie followed them inside. Beth was in the process of locking the bakery to go into the deli. “Hello Mrs. Paulson. These are my friends.” Tracy quickly introduced all of her friends.

“A large group. Why are you here? I thought that you were going to Disneyland today?”

“We are.” Maggie said. “But we wanted to get them all something to eat, none of them had lunch at school today, and I wanted to grab my paycheck. With the bank just across the road, I can put it into the account and come back for something.”

“Mom’s in the office and she has it in there.” Beth replied.

“Thanks Beth.” Maggie said and she headed into the back.

“Hey Tracy!” A voice rang out and she looked over to see Officer Henderson and Officer Cunningham sitting in a booth. In another booth was Captain Hill.

“Hi!” Tracy bounded over. “How are you?”

“Good and you?” Officer Cunningham asked.

“Great! We’re about to go to Disneyland!”

“That’s great. I haven’t been there since I was a little girl.” Officer Cunningham said with a smile. “I bet my girls would love it....”

“Oh yeah. I remember the last time I went, like six years ago.” Tracy said. “I was a little girl and loved it.” She looked to the older Captain. “Hello Sir. How are you today.”

“Good. But it looks like you’re doing just a bit better than me.” He said with a smile. “Enjoy L.A. and be a good girl.”

“I will.” Tracy replied as Eva came out from the kitchen with food for customers.

Harvey walked over and began talking shop while the girls all ordered their meals. The six girls, plus Vance, Jamie and Mooney all took over the bar type seating at the deli. The parents grabbed a couple of tables. Each of them ordered and went back to talking

As their meal ended, Beth went up to the three tables that the adults were using. “I was wondering, do you have snacks for the girls? Disneyland is a good five or so hours away.”

“Some, we filled the vehicles up and the ladies bought snacks for the kids.” Harvey said, looking to the other fathers for confirmation. They all nodded.

“I got a bunch of baked goods that I'll just toss out tonight. They were cooked this morning. They are the cleaner ones, no cream filled or stuff like that.”

“Sure, if you don’t mind. Do you want anything for it?”

“Well, it was due to be tossed, if you don’t mind charity.”

“Tracy, you and the girls wanna come on back and we can pick up some goodies for the road?”

“Sure!” Tracy got up and led her friends to the back.

“You sure you don’t want anything for this?” Harvey asked.

“Nothing, but if you want to pay something, I’ll make it half off cause this isn’t even a day old.” Beth told him.

“Sold.”

~~~***~~***~~~

Scotty stepped back, tears forming in his eyes. He held his right arm with his left and where it had been hit with the belt hurt badly. He had never seen his mother this crazy, but now he was worried about being left with her. And then there was his Grandparents, he knew they were there, but they weren’t stopping this attack. Instead they encouraged it.

“HIT HIM!” Molly screamed at Scotty. “HIT YOUR BROTHER!!!”

Robbie was curled into a ball on the floor while his mother whipped his brother with a belt. He had never seen her this mad, even when Scotty had done something bad. His lip was already split, his nose bleeding and his eye had been hit, but Scotty had only done it after his mother had whipped him. Now he was refusing.

Molly turned to Robbie, and her face looked sad, but determined. “I’m sorry baby, but this is necessary to stop an evil person.”

Her hand with the belt went back and he covered his face as she swung. Scotty was curled into a corner of the locked room, too afraid to stop his mother.

~~~~****~*~****~~~~

Back in Oroville, something was wrong and Keith Klein knew it. He sat back in his chair, calling the number he had for the Pattersons, but no one had been answering. He had already stopped by the Patterson place, but no one was there. He knew he had to warn them somehow. He wasn’t sure where to begin, or what to say, nor was he sure how things had reached the point they had reached.

He just knew there was trouble coming for the family and coming quickly. He was feeling helpless and wished there was a good answer on how to reach them, but so far, he was striking out. He wasn’t aware of the connections that Molly had in the county, just that she had been released from jail. He had heard that the restraining orders had been removed too

_____________

Well it's gonna get a bit dark from here. Will Molly turn her evil to the town? How will this effect Tracy?