"Ms. Wilson, before we start the proceedings today, could you bring Angel in? Nancy has requested the child be present while the defense has the next witness on the stand. She has assured me that her questions will be brief, and then Angel's testimony can be directly following that witness."

Maggie Wilson nodded at the judge, and went to retrieve Angel from the young welfare officer who had been keeping the child entertained. Maggie returned shortly with Angel in tow, and she glanced at the judge for unspoken permission.

He nodded, and smiled gently as Maggie allowed Angel to run over and hug her daddy tightly. Maggie waited a few minutes, then told the child they had to sit quietly in a different spot. Angel gave her father another squeeze, and followed Maggie to their assigned seating area.

A large black woman was ushered into the court room, and she was shown to the stand. "My name is Henrietta Bouboulette, and I run the orphanage where Angel was placed prior to her adoption," she said.

"Mrs. Bouboulette, can you describe the condition of Angel when she came into your care, and could you point that child out for us today?" asked Nancy.

"Why certainly I can, when will she arrive?" the orphanage director said, looking around.

At that, Angel let out a loud giggle, and said, "Hi, Missus Bubblebutt!"

"That's Bouboulette, child," corrected the director automatically, before turning to look at Angel. "HEAVENS! Is that really you, darling? I thought you were someone else's little girl!" she exclaimed, rising to her feet. May I go over to her, Your Honor?" she asked, dabbing a tear from her eye.

"Certainly, Mrs. Bouboulette, please feel free," the judge said.

As she made her way from the stand, the large woman began laughing merrily and said, "All the kids call me Mrs. Bubblebutt, and I don't blame them, I DO have one! This precious child never did that, though. I even told her I didn't mind, and she just shrank back like she'd be punished for doing something that audacious!" Reaching Angel, she swept the child up into her ample bosom, and said, "Oh, you precious little Angel, your new parents have certainly done right by you!"

Angel hugged her back, and said, "You were always nice to me and gave me treats, thank you, ma'am!"

Spying Jim sitting at the defense table, Henrietta said, "Your Honor, I just don't see how a man that helped turn that frightened little girl into this sweetie pie could be guilty of what they said he did!"

"OBJECTION, Your Honor!" exclaimed the prosecutor.

"Overruled," said the judge, "She's merely expressing her opinion." He smiled as he watched Mrs. Bouboulette hug Angel tightly, then set her down again.

Henrietta turned and asked Jim, "How is your lovely wife doing?"

Jim's face fell, and he huskily said, "She died six months ago, from cancer."

Henrietta's hands flew up to her chest, and she said "Oh, Mr. Stevenson, I'm so very sorry, I didn't know! From what I saw of her, she loved both you and that precious Angel very much, and I feel your dear wife is still watching over both of you!" She swooped in and gave him a hug, and then returned to the witness box.

"Your Honor, this is a completely different child than the one I first saw at the orphanage! I never heard the old Angel laugh, and she was a tiny starved thing, covered in bruises, with short stringy hair. She'd sit and huddle in a corner somewhere, and would only speak when spoken to. I brought some pictures from when she first came in, you can see for yourself."

"Of course, we tried to draw her out, but it wasn't until the Stevensons arrived that I ever saw her as more than a shell of what she is today. I showed them some happier children, and they were thinking of picking one of them, but then they saw little Angel sitting in the corner, and I could tell that their hearts just broke seeing her all huddled up by herself."

"Jim's wife Carole knelt down, and with tears streaming down her face, said 'would you like to come home with us, sweetie?' Angel looked at them, and..." Mrs. Bouboulette paused for a moment, and blew her nose loudly. "I'm sorry, Your Honor, I still get touched thinking about it. Angel saw these two strangers who already loved her with all their hearts, and she leapt up and ran into Carole's arms, sobbing loudly!"

Nancy smiled at her and wiped some tears from her own eyes, saying, "Thank you, Mrs. Bouboulette, I have no further questions."

The judge looked over at the prosecutor, who cleared his throat, and said, "I... ahh... I don't wish to cross-examine the witness, Your Honor." He cleared his throat again and began shoving papers around the table to distract attention from the suspicious moisture in his eyes.

"Hi sweetie, you understand the difference between telling a lie and telling the truth, don't you?" the judge asked, as he smiled down at Angel.

"Umm-hmm!" the little girl nodded, "Telling a lie is when you make stuff up, and I don't do that unless I'm playing pretend. This isn't playtime now, and anyway, Daddy told me I was supposed to tell the truth, even if I think it would get you mad at him! Please don't be mad at my daddy!" She snuffled back a tear as she looked over at her father.

"Err... Angel, I'm not mad at your father, I'm just here to make sure that we protect children like you from any harm, OK?" Judge Harris took a sip of water, then continued, "That's why I need you to answer all of the questions like you did with Dr. Forrester, so that I can decide what to do that would be in your best interests."

Angel nodded at that and scrubbed away another tear, then offered a tentative smile as Nancy stepped forward. "Hi, Angel, could you tell the judge a little about the time before the Stevensons adopted you?"

"Daddy, do I have to? It makes me feel bad!" Angel cried, looking over at her father.

Jim glanced at the judge for permission, then said, "Yes, sweetheart. The judge needs to know about that as well as the good times. Your Honor, it might be easier for her if she had Mr. Bear with her, Ms. Wilson picked him up from the house after she started caring for Angel."

The judge looked over at Maggie, who said, "Your Honor, after the way she brightened up when we went to get Mr. Bear from her house, I figured he might be needed during the trial. With your permission?" The judge nodded, and she pulled a worn teddy bear from a bag, and took it over to Angel.

"OHH! MR. BEAR!" the child cried, hugging the toy tightly. "Thank you for bringing him, Mizz Wilson! OK, Daddy, I'll tell about the foster care and stuff, Mr. Bear will help me! Mr. Judge, my mommy and daddy got Mr. Bear for me the day they 'dopted me, and he's been with me ever since!"

The sicol... psic... umm, Dr. Forrester asked about my birth mommy and daddy, so I'll try to tell you what I told him. I don't 'member them much, I think they yelled at each other a lot, but they didn't do stuff to me."

"After they died, I got put in foster care. I don't 'member the first one that much, I was too little. I think they were nice, but not as nice as my new mommy and daddy!"

"The next place was really MEAN! They'd hit me and throw stuff at me, and laugh when I cried. They'd even... burn me with cigarettes!" Angel stopped talking as her eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed her bear in a death grip. "I... I WANT MY DADDY!!" she wailed.

"Your Honor, please..." Jim hoarsely whispered, as he raised his manacled hands.

The judge quickly nodded at the bailiff, who unshackled Jim and walked him to the witness box. "I'm right here, baby," Jim murmured, as he held Angel and rocked her back and forth, stroking her shoulders.

Judge Harris called the bailiff over, and told him quietly, "I think Mr. Stevenson can do without the cuffs for the rest of the trial, I don't consider him dangerous or a flight risk."

"Angel, baby, do you think you can go on?" Jim asked, after rocking the child for several minutes. "The judge would like to hear about the other places too, and he told me that they were all in big trouble for doing that to you!"

Angel sniffed and scrubbed her face with both hands, and said, "I... I think so, Daddy. Thank you for letting my daddy come to me, Mr. Judge!" She gave Jim another hug, and watched sadly as he was led back to his seat.

"The... The third place is where the man would put his thing in me. He started by sticking fingers in my cunny or butt, and he'd put his thing in my mouth. He'd hit me if I told him I didn't want to do it, or when my teeth hurt his thing. His stuff would get in my mouth or all over my face. Then he started putting his thing in my butt, and that hurt a bunch at first."

"One day he stuck his finger in my cunny real hard, and it hurt a whole bunch! The next day he put his thing in there, and it still hurt a bunch, but not like it did when he put his finger in it. After that, he'd put his thing in my cunny or my butt almost every day, he said he liked to fuck me 'cause I was so tight, and 'cause I cried when he did. Even though it hurt, I tried real hard not to cry any more, and he took me back to the foster place. He said if I ever told, that he'd h-hurt me r-really bad!"

Seeing some tears start to well up in her eyes, Judge Harris said kindly, "Angel, sweetheart, you were very brave to tell me that. We'll make sure that the man won't ever hurt you again, or any other child. Would you like your daddy to come hold you again for a little bit?"

Angel swiftly nodded, and the judge waited while her father was brought over again to comfort her. After a couple of minutes of hugging Jim, the child looked up with a shaky smile, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Judge!"

Angel waited while her father went to sit down, then continued her story. "At the next place, the lady was real mean. She said my parents were evil because they sold people bad stuff, and she said that I was evil also, 'cause I was their kid! She gave me spankings with a big paddle if I did something bad, even if it was an accident like spilling a drink. A lot of times after she'd spank me, she'd tell me I couldn't have supper."

"One time after she spanked me, I was rubbing my cunny to feel better, like I'd started doing after the last man would fuck me. She came in and saw me, and started screaming that I was a little slut. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to her room where she kept the paddle. She hit my hand with it really hard and said that's what happens to little sluts who touch themselves. Then she paddled me hard on my cunny AND my butt, and then she locked me in my room. My finger hurt really bad where she hit it, and I couldn't bend it."

"She left me in my room all that night and the next day, and I got really hungry and thirsty! Finally her husband let me out, and told me I had to behave. I said my finger hurt really bad, and he wrapped a big stretchy bandage all around my finger and hand."

"When the woman wasn't there, he started asking me about when I rubbed my cunny, then one day he told me to show him. When I did, he started rubbing it too, and he got out his thing and made me rub that till his stuff went all over. He asked if anyone had ever stuck anything in me. I told him about the man at the last place. The next day, he got out his thing and said he was going to put it in me. He rubbed my cunny first and it felt a little good, then he put some goop on his thing and stuck it in me. It didn't hurt like when the other man did it, and he put all his stuff inside me."

"He did that a bunch, and one day the woman came home and found him doing it. She yelled at him, then started hitting me with the paddle all over my body, yelling that I was an evil little slut that made her husband do that stuff. I don't 'member much else that night, I woke up in my room and I hurt all over. I was really hungry and thirsty again, and I had to go to the bathroom. I tried knocking on the door and saying I was sorry, but they didn't come. I had to go real bad, and I couldn't hold it. My pee came out in a big puddle while I was knocking on the door, and I had to go change my panties!"

"The woman came in a long time later, and stepped in the puddle. She got real mad at that, and screamed at me some more. I told her I was real hungry and thirsty, but she said an evil slut child didn't deserve food and water. She made me clean up all the pee, and then she threw a bunch of diapers in the room, and told me that only little babies wet their pants, so I had to wear diapers from now on, or I'd get paddled some more."

"She left me in the room for days and days, and she'd bring in glasses of water and throw some bread at me. She brought in a big trash can, and told me I had to put my dirty diapers in there. It didn't have a lid, and got really stinky! She'd bring the paddle in sometimes, and hit me all over with it again, and she'd say she had to do it to get the evil out of me!"

"After a long time, she said she couldn't deal with someone as evil as me, and took me back to the foster place. She... She said that my parents had done naughty stuff to me, and that's why I... I rubbed myself and made up l-lies that her husband had done the naughty stuff. She said she made sure the foster people knew that I would t-try to make up a bunch of lies, and they wouldn't b-believe me."

"The foster place people said that because I... I told lies all the time and had to w-wear diapers, they weren't going to put me with any more families. That's when they sent me to the group home! I-I DIDN'T TELL ANY L-LIES!"

Sensing that Angel was about to erupt in tears again, Judge Harris motioned for the bailiff to bring her father over to her. Jim hugged his daughter and rocked her gently for several minutes, as she sobbed softly into his shoulder.

Giving her father one last hug, Angel whispered "I love you, Daddy!", and waited until he went to his seat, before saying, "Th-Thank you for letting him come over, Mr. Judge. I'll... I'll be OK now, I think! It wasn't bad like that at the home."

"When I got there, some kids teased me about wearing diapers, so I told Missus Bubble... umm, Bou... Bouboulette that I didn't need diapers, and she let me wear panties again. She was nice! I didn't want to play with the kids, 'cause they had teased me, and 'cause I felt really bad deep inside, right here," Angel said, as she brought her hands to her chest. "I was scared I'd get put in another foster home, and I saw a bunch of kids get 'dopted, but I knew I wouldn't ever get 'dopted 'cause I was an 'evil slut child' like the lady said!"

"Then my new mommy and daddy came, only they weren't my mommy and daddy then. My new mommy, Missus Stevenson, started crying when she saw me, and when she... she asked if I wanted to go home with them, a whole bunch of my feel-bad went away real quick and it m-made me start crying too! I... I miss my MOMMY!" Angel wailed, and the judge quickly motioned for Mr. Stevenson to come up and comfort his daughter again.

After a few minutes, Judge Harris said, "I believe now would be a good time for us to break for lunch. Angel, sweetheart, you'll need to go with Ms. Wilson in a bit, but you'll see your daddy again this afternoon. Court adjourned, we'll start up at 1:00 P.M. sharp."

End of Chapter 04