"Hi Mr. Judge, did you have a good lunch?" Angel burbled. "Whoops, sorry, Mizz Wilson told me I'm s'posed to say Yerronner instead!"

Judge Harris smiled down at the child and said, "That's all right, sweetheart, I don't mind if you call me Mr. Judge. You remind me of my granddaughter. To answer your question, yes, I had a nice lunch, how was yours?"

Angel smiled and said, "Mizz Wilson took me to a restaurant, and they had pasg... spaghetti that was almost as good as Mommy's! I guess now I'm s'posed to talk about what happened after my mommy and daddy brought me home."

"They took me home from the orphanage, and bought Mr. Bear for me at a big toy store!" Angel paused her recitation a moment to squeeze the poor teddy tightly, then continued. "They said I was their daughter, and I'd be with them forever, and it made me so happy!"

"I still thought they'd take me back and get a new kid, so I tried to be really good, but one day I started rubbing my cunny again, and Mommy came in and saw me. I got really scared and started crying, and she asked me why I was crying. I told her it was 'cause I was an evil slut child who rubbed my cunny and she was gonna paddle me, and she came over and gave me a big hug."

"She said that whoever called me that was wrong, and that I wasn't evil or a slut, and that it was OK for me to rub myself if I wanted. She told me it was something private like going to the bathroom, but lots of kids and adults rubbed themselves to feel good. Then she asked me all about who had called me an evil slut child, and I told her about the lady at the last foster place, and the other places."

"Mommy and Daddy got really mad, but they told me they weren't mad at me, they were mad at the foster places and all the people who were mean to me!"

"After that, I started feeling like Mommy and Daddy really did love me, and I wasn't afraid that they'd take me back any more, but I still wanted to be good because they were so nice to me."

"One day I... I was really naughty, and Mommy asked me to pick up some toys, and I told her 'NO!' She got a really sad look in her eyes, and pulled me over and started talking to me. She said that a child is s'posed to obey their parents, and it made her feel bad when I disobeyed. That made me feel really, really bad, almost worse than when the lady had paddled me. I started crying and told Mommy I was really sorry, and she gave me a big hug."

"One time, I had a bad dream, and I went in their room and they were both naked, and kissing each other and stuff. I asked if they were fucking, and Mommy said I shouldn't use that word. She told me they were making love, and that it was something only for mommies and daddies to do when they loved each other very much, and it made both of them feel good like when I rubbed myself. She also said it was a private time and I was s'posed to knock if the door was shut, and she told me that the men who had done stuff like that to me were very very wrong, but that it wasn't my fault 'cause I was just a little girl and the men were bigger than me!"

"One time I heard them make some noise after I was in bed, and I got up and peeked through a crack in the door, and I saw Daddy put his thing in Mommy, and they both made funny noises and said they loved each other. That made me feel funny like I did when I rubbed myself, so I went back to bed and rubbed my cunny on Mr. Bear."

"Then... Then Mommy got real sick, and it made me feel really bad in my throat. She called me over to her bed, and said that she was sorry that she couldn't keep her promise to me to be with me forever, and she told me she was going to go to H-Heaven, where she could watch over me and Daddy."

"I asked her to please stay, but she said she was s-sick, and was going to die. I-I started crying, and she... she asked me to be g-good for Daddy, and to show him I-I loved him, 'cause he'd m-miss her a whole b-bunch just like I w-would!"

Angel's face filled with tears, and Judge Harris waited patiently while her father came over once again. The judge wasn't surprised to hear a few soft sniffles from other parts of the court room, as he felt his own eyes watering a bit. He glanced at the prosecutor, and was shocked to see that Angel's story had even reached that normally unflappable man.

Once everyone had composed themselves, Nancy asked, "Angel, did your mommy or daddy ever hit you, or hurt you in any way?"

The little girl shook her head quickly, and said, "Nuh unh! They told me that sometimes even parents that loved their kids spanked them, but not like that lady with the paddle, and Mommy and Daddy said that they wouldn't ever do anything like that to me, 'cause of the way the foster people had hurt me! Mommy and Daddy told me that if I was ever naughty, they'd just talk to me, and maybe send me to my room or take away a toy for a little bit. I didn't ever want to be naughty, 'cause I loved them so much!"

"Thank you, sweetheart," Nancy said. "Can you tell the judge if your mommy or daddy ever touched your private areas or made you touch their private areas?"

"Nuh unh, only at bath time," Angel said. "Before she... she died, Mommy gave me my baths, and she'd wash my hair, and use a teddy bear sponge on me all over. She said I should always make sure that my bottom and cunny were clean, and she showed me how to clean them myself before I turned six. After Mommy got... got sick, Daddy gave me my baths, and he said I was a big girl when I told him he didn't have to wash those parts, 'cause I could do it myself! Even after Daddy and I started making love, he never did anything to me unless I asked him to."

"You're doing very well, Angel," Nancy said, as she smiled at the little girl. "Can you tell us a little about what you said at the school, when the teacher overheard you?"

"Umm Hmm!" Angel nodded, "I was talking to Janie, she's my friend, and she asked if I ever rubbed my cunny. She said she was playing in the bath and the water from the faucet landed on hers, and made her feel good. I told her about when the men had fucked me, and that didn't feel good, but I'd always rub my cunny to feel better after they left me alone."

Nancy smiled at her, and said, "Thank you, Angel. I apologize for using this word, but can you tell the judge how many times you and your daddy 'fucked,' and did you rub your privates afterwards?"

Angel looked at her curiously, and said, "He never fucked me."

Her father let out an anguished groan and said, "ANGEL! You promised you'd tell the truth!"

Judge Harris banged his gavel once and said, "Mr. Stevenson! Please refrain from interrupting the witness! Normally, I'd consider such an action contempt of court, but I can understand your outburst. Angel, dear, are you saying you never had sex with your father?"

Angel screwed up her face, and asked innocently, "You mean making love? Sure, we did that! But Mizz West asked me if he fucked me, and he never did! The only people that fucked me were the two men in the foster homes! When Daddy and I made love, he always made me feel really good, a lot better than when I'd rub my cunny!"

"Thank you, sweetheart," Nancy said. "Could you tell us a little about the times you and your daddy made love?"

"Sure, those were fun!" Angel replied. "The first time was after Mommy died, and we were watching a movie. All of the sudden, Daddy got real mad and broke his dish on the floor. It really scared me, 'cause I'd never seen him get mad before, 'cept when Mommy told him about the stuff the mean foster people had done to me. He saw that I was really scared, and all his mad went away, and he told me he just missed Mommy a whole bunch. He gave me a hug and put me to bed, 'cept I sneaked out of bed and peeked through the door at him."

"I saw him rub his thing a couple times, but the stuff didn't come out like when the men made me rub theirs. I think he was crying a little, and he called out Mommy's name, and then went to sleep. His thing was sticking up under the covers, and I 'membered Mommy told me I should show Daddy I love him. I 'membered when Mommy and Daddy making love, and he couldn't do that any more now that Mommy was... was gone, so I sneaked in and pulled down the covers, and then his undies. When I saw his thing, it made me feel like I'd been rubbing my cunny a bunch, and I took off my nightshirt and panties, and rubbed my cunny a little bit."

"It got real gooey, and it's never done that before. The goo was really slippery, and I 'member that the one foster home man had put slippery stuff on his thing and it didn't hurt me as much, so I thought my goo would help make it not hurt either. I didn't care if it hurt some, 'cause it was to help Daddy."

"I tried not to wiggle the bed, and I climbed up and pushed his thing into my cunny. It didn't hurt, and when the men had fucked me, they pushed their things in and out, so I tried to move up and down on Daddy. It made me feel even better than rubbing my cunny, and Daddy started making funny noises. Then he woke up and shouted Mommy's name, and grabbed me. He pushed me all the way down on his thing and I felt his stuff go in me, so I knew I'd helped him be happy again!"

"He saw it was me, and got mad for a second, then really sad. He wiped a wet washcloth on my cunny, and put me to bed. The next morning he told me it was bad for me to do that with him, and I thought he stopped loving me! He didn't hug and kiss me any more, and he'd get angry if I only had panties on, 'cause he said it wasn't right for me to go around half-naked. I thought he was going to send me back to the orphanage 'cause I'd done something really bad, and I started getting in trouble at school."

"Daddy had to come to school to get me, and he told me he still loved me and he'd never take me back to the orphanage. When we got home, he told me that it was wrong for a daddy and his little girl to do that stuff and he could go to jail, and it was only for mommies and daddies and people who loved each other very much!"

"I told him I loved him very much, and he said he loved me too, then he said if he had to show me, he would. He carried me to the bedroom, and I got undressed really fast. He told me why people liked to make love, and asked me to tell him if he hurt me."

"He started rubbing my cunny, and it felt REALLY good! Then he started licking it, and that felt even BETTER! I wanted him to feel good too, so I asked him to make love with me, so he did! It felt GREAT when he put his thing in me, and my tingles were going all over my body. Then he touched something at the top of my cunny, and that made the tingles even stronger! He pushed his thing all the way in me, and I felt his stuff go up inside of me, and I knew that he liked making love with me like he used to do with Mommy, and the tingles just 'sploded in me!!"

"He told me that he'd always love me very much, whether we made love again or not. He said he'd make love with me whenever I really wanted to, but he wouldn't ever make me do it. He also said he'd make sure to show me he loved me like he did before, with hugs and kisses and stuff."

"Daddy seemed a lot happier, and I was glad that he really loved me. I tried rubbing my cunny sometimes, and I found the bumpy spot that had made the tingles stronger. Sometimes I'd have 'splosions from rubbing that spot, but they didn't feel as nice as when Daddy had made love with me. Plus, my 'splosions didn't help Daddy feel good, so I told him I wanted to make love again."

"Daddy did some of the same stuff, and my tingles went all over, and when his stuff went in me I knew I'd made him feel good, and that made me 'splode again! It made me so happy that I could help Daddy to not miss Mommy, and it made both of us feel good!"

"I wanted to make love with Daddy over and over, and we made love two times after that, until that mean Mizz Spenser called the policemen! Mr. Judge, why is it wrong for someone like my daddy and me to make love, even when we both love each other very much? It made me feel so happy, and Daddy could never hurt me!"

"Ahh... Ermm... Angel, sweetheart, that law is in place to protect little girls like you, and little boys as well." The judge cleared his throat, and said, "It is supposed to protect you from people like those men in the foster homes, and there are also some bad parents who would do things like that to their children, even if the children didn't want to, or if it hurt them."

"Thank you, Angel, you did very well," Nancy said. "Your Honor, I am done with my questions for Angel."

Judge Harris glanced over at the prosecutor, who shook his head. The judge said, "Thank you Angel, you may go give your daddy a hug, and then Ms. Wilson will take you back to that young lady who was watching you earlier."

"Your Honor, I had planned to call Dr. Forrester as a witness," the prosecutor said. "However, in light of Angel's testimony, I think Ms. West should call him instead."

The judge looked concerned, and said, "Are you saying you consider Dr. Forrester to be a hostile witness? This is fairly irregular at this point in the trial, particularly when we haven't heard any testimony from the doctor yet."

"Not at all, Your Honor. Ahh, may I approach the bench?" the prosecutor asked. The judge nodded, and motioned Nancy up as well.

The prosecutor lowered his voice and said, "Your Honor, this is completely off the record, but at this point I feel that convicting this father of molestation and rape and separating him from Angel would be the worst possible thing to do to the child. My questions to Dr. Forrester would be influenced by my feelings, and it could be construed later as if I was soft on all child molestation offenses. The same type of questions coming from Ms. West would be perfectly normal for a lawyer trying to protect her client's interests. You said my request was irregular, Your Honor. In a way, this whole trial could be considered irregular, as the circumstances leading to the sexual encounters between Angel and her father are in no way typical of a molestation case."

Judge Harris rubbed his chin a moment in thought. "Nancy, would you have any objections to this? Keep in mind, the prosecution would be able to cross-examine following Dr. Forrester's testimony." When she shook her head in response to his question, the judge said, "Very well, Ms. West, you may call Dr. Forrester as a witness for the defense."

Once Dr. Forrester had taken his place on the stand, Nancy smiled at him, and asked, "Dr. Forrester, could you tell us your findings on Angel?"

"Yes. While Angel was badly abused by the various foster homes, that emotional damage has almost been erased by the care and love she's received from the Stevensons. I would put her mental and emotional health almost on par with that of a non-abused child who had been raised in a normal loving home. As you've seen during the trial, she does need a great deal of loving physical contact. This craving for 'safe touches' can be present when all previous forms of contact were abusive. Some children react the opposite way, fearing all contact, even simple hugs and pats on the back."

"Your Honor, if I hadn't been told of the sexual encounters between Angel and her adopted father, I would have felt extremely confident in saying that the only evidence of such encounters were from her past foster-care experiences, and NOT from Mr. Stevenson. She shows NO signs of being in a current abusive situation, and in fact is doing quite a bit better than I would have imagined, given her previous experiences."

"She does show guilt, but not like the unwarranted guilt and shame associated with normal sexual abuse. Her guilt is two-fold, first for saying something where the teacher could overhear, and second for having sex with her father when he was sleeping, and then continuing to ask him to 'make love' with her. She feels that if she had never 'made him make love' with her, that he wouldn't be in trouble now."

"Ahh, Your Honor," Dr. Forrester asked, "May I say something off the record?" The judge nodded, then waved the doctor up to the bench, and asked the two lawyers to approach the bench as well.

"Thank you, Your Honor. What I'm about to say goes against every principle I've learned from every psychology textbook, and my colleagues would probably fight to remove me from practice. That being said, however, I strongly feel that in this particular case, more harm would be done to the child by removing her from Mr. Stevenson's care, than by letting her remain with him, even if they continue having sex!"

"Would you care to explain that surprising statement, Doctor?" asked Judge Harris.

"Certainly, Your Honor. As I said, Angel feels some guilt for 'making' her father do those things with her, which is unrelated to the normal abuse survivor's guilt such as 'I must have done something to make him do that to me!' In Angel's case, she wanted him to 'make love' with her, as she thought he didn't love her unless he had sex with her."

"If this trial results in her father being sentenced to prison and Angel being placed with yet another foster family, in her mind it would be due to her own actions. I fear that would devastate her mental health and self esteem, and it would taint any normal sexual relationships she might have as an adult. In addition, even if those concerns were not present, this child would be taken from the only loving home she's ever known, and she would be forced back into a foster care situation, which she rightfully associates with the worst times of her life."

"After hearing Mr. Stevenson's testimony and that of Angel, I would say that by having sex with Angel, Mr. Stevenson may have actually helped her. This little girl drew a distinction between 'being fucked' by the abusive men in the foster care program, and 'making love', which is something she witnessed her loving adopted mother and father doing. After the fallout from when she snuck into her father's room that night, Angel felt that she had done something 'bad', and that her father didn't love her any more. By having loving sex with her, Mr. Stevenson showed Angel that he still loved her, in the only way she could understand."

Dr. Forrester let a wry grin cross his face, and said,"After saying that, I'm sure if any of my colleagues had heard it, instead of just trying to remove me from practice, they'd probably try to have me arrested!"

"Thank you for your candor, Dr. Forrester," the judge said. "I'll need to think about all of this for a while. Court is adjourned for... let's say 20 minutes."

Judge Harris returned, and said, "I'd like to see Mr. Stevenson and Angel in my chambers, along with counsel on both sides. Dr. Forrester, you are welcome to attend as well. Maggie, could you bring Angel along?"

"Ahh, you're all here. I must admit, I find myself with a dilemma," the judge said, after everyone filed into his office.

"On one hand, we have a father who has confessed to willfully having sex with his adopted daughter on more than one occasion. That is corroborated by physical evidence and by the testimony of the child. Normally, the law would be clear on that; removal of the abused child from the abuser's custody, along with a large amount of jail time for the abuser... Err, please don't cry, Angel, I haven't finished."

"On the other hand, after hearing the testimony from the father and child, and hearing from people such as Mrs. Bouboulette and Dr. Forrester, my personal feelings are that the child was not harmed by THIS sexual contact, and in fact it may have been beneficial in some way, due to the previous abuse she received at the hands of the people in the foster homes."

"I feel that in this case, separating the father and child, branding the father a sex offender, and sentencing him to jail would NOT be in the interests of justice or the welfare of the child, no matter how rigid the law may be in these matters."

"I shall deliver an acquittal in this case and seal the court transcripts, however I believe the community may not be so forgiving. Mr. Stevenson, I suggest that you move as far away as you can, as soon as possible."

"Pardon me, Your Honor, I may have a solution," Nancy said. "First, I would ask that what I am about to say never leaves this room."

After receiving solemn assurances of silence from all present, Nancy continued. "I... ahh, have heard of a small town that is rather unusual. Due to something in their water supply, they are, erm... very... forgiving... on various sexual matters, including such things as an adult having 'consensual' sex with a child. The children born in the town all started displaying sexual desires and activity when they were very young. Don't worry, the town isn't within the jurisdiction of this court."

"The first rule of the town is 'Nothing Without Permission', and any person can refuse any unwanted sexual contact. The people there, including the children, actually seem to be in better emotional health than most in this country, due to not having any sexual 'hang-ups.' I feel that such a place would be ideal for the Stevensons to live, and they wouldn't need to worry about prying teachers calling the welfare office on them."

"Of course, the Stevensons would also be free from pressure to have sex with any others in the town, unless they chose to do so. I can make a couple of calls, and arrange for directions to be given to the Stevensons, if they think that the town would suit them. It's possible I can even have my... erm, contacts... line up a job for Mr. Stevenson."

"Where is this town?" asked the prosecutor. "Why haven't I heard of something like this? Of course, I agreed to never speak of it once we leave, and I will honor that agreement, but I find it rather odd that there has never been any mention of an entire town where adults have sex with children!"

"As you can imagine," said Nancy, "secrecy is vital to their way of life. I hesitated to bring it up now, but I feel it's the best solution for Jim and Angel. I... ahhh... I don't even know where it is myself, and if they decide to accept Jim and Angel, my contacts will give him the directions."

"Jim, Angel, do you think you might enjoy living in that town, away from all the people who would judge you for having sex?" Nancy smiled as the pair quickly agreed, and she continued, "I'll need to make a few calls, thank you for keeping the Stevensons together, Your Honor!"

"No, thank you for your suggestion, Ms. West," said the judge. "Now, let's go wrap this up, so the Stevensons can get started with their new life."

The End

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Author's End Note:

I would like to hear from my fellow authors, as I feel that the ending (once they are in the Judge's chambers in chapter 5) doesn't quite have the 'sizzle' that I want. Someone said it might be because there is 'no conflict,' but I think I'm too close to my work to see how to fix it.