A couple of days had passed and the kids were not getting on any better. Rachel and Grace were still not talking to Lucy, other than when Rachel brought schoolwork home for her sister everyday.

Will and Alicia didn't know what to do and hoped that having Diane over for their usual Friday night dinner would help. But they were sure Diane would have a lot to talk about. Diane had a meeting with Social Services today, she was serious about wanting to be a parent, and had applied to become a foster parent. Will and Alicia had written a glowing report for Diane, but today was the day she would find out if she had been accepted or not. Alicia and Will had no doubt that she would be, she was an upstanding citizen, who was also very wealthy, but Diane had her doubts, she wasn't young anymore and was married to her job.

"Good Morning Mum" Lucy said as she came into the kitchen at breakfast time, she was already dressed with jeans on and a sweater.

"Morning sweetie" Alicia replied with a morning kiss to her daughters head "Would you like pancakes?"

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry, I'm nervous for today"

"Honey your audition isn't until 5pm, you need to eat" Alicia said as she placed a plate in front of her daughter. "Lucy, you know if you don't get in that its not the end of the world, there will be other auditions" Alicia added

"You don't think I will get in?"

"No, that's not what I am saying at all, you are great, but it depends what they are looking for, I just don't want you to get your hopes up"

"I'm going to my room until Dad is ready to take me to work with him" Lucy replied as she stood up feeling deflated

"Lucy, your Dad has court; you need to come with me"

"I'll go to court with Dad"

"No, you will come with me, so sit down and eat your pancakes" Alicia said as Will came in

"Dad, can I go to court with you today?"

"Sorry sweetie, you need to go with Mum, but I will be back at noon, we can come back to the house and practice for an hour then I will take you to your audition, how does that sound."

"OK" Lucy replied she left the room to wait in her room; she didn't want to face her brother and sister today.

It wasn't long before Rachel, Zach and Grace were on the school bus all thankful that Friday had arrived. Zach was no longer grounded, much to Sophia's delight; they had arranged to go meet Sophia's parents after school before Zach was going home to dinner with Diane and his family.

"So, what are you wearing to meet Sophia's Dad?" Rachel asked

"Eh, this" he replied pointing to his school uniform

"You should go home first, get a cool pair of jeans and a nice shirt"

"I think I'll stick to my uniform" Zach replied shaking his head at his sister

"You want to make a good impression Zach"

"And what, my school uniform that Sophia will be wearing too won't be good enough"

"OK, if you think so" Rachel replied.

…

"Lucy, can you go into my office and start on some school work" Alicia said as they got out of the elevator at Lockhart, Gardner and Gardner.

"Can I go and see Auntie Diane first?" Lucy asked

"So long as you don't bother her and straight back" Alicia said

"Thanks Mum"

Lucy dumped her bag on her the floor of her mother's office and walked across the hall to her Aunts.

"Hi Auntie Diane" Lucy said as she walked into her office. Justice jumped on her as soon as she walked in.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling about your audition?" Diane asked

"Nervous, Dad is going to take me home after lunch to practice for an hour or two"

"That's a good idea, I'm sure you will be great"

"I'm glad you think so, my Mum doesn't" Lucy said as she picked Justice up and sat on the sofa

"Your Mum thinks wonders of you" Diane replied sitting next to her.

"She said I might not get in"

"Honey, you know nothing is certain, I think you are fab and if they say no then that is there loss, but you know it might be a possibility. I'm sure your Mum just doesn't want to get your hopes up"

"That's what she said, I didn't want to come here with her today, I wanted to go with Dad, and she has been in a mood all morning"

"Who's she, the cats mother, and I'll be in a worse mood if you don't start your schoolwork" Alicia said from the doorway.

"Sorry Mum" Lucy said as she got up and left to go into her Mother's office

"Sorry Diane, I think she is getting fed up spending all her time with us, Lucy needs some time away from us, with Kids her own age" Alicia said, slightly annoyed at her self for being moody with Lucy.

"That's why this audition will be so good for her"

"It will, I just want her to get in, and make some new friends, I'm worried she doesn't get in, her confidence will be shattered, and all I have done is snap at her today"

"I'm sure that's not true. Are you going to be OK here yourself today?" Diane asked

"Sure, you go and have your meeting, and I hope everything goes great, you will make a great Mum"

"Thanks Alicia"

….

Diane's meeting went very well, she was happy to find out that she had passed and would now be a Foster carer, her reference from Alicia and Will, and her home visits had all been perfect.

"We have a few kids to show you" Kirsten said. Kirsten was a social worker who dealed with vulnerable children, but this was what made her happiest in her job, pairing up children with parents who would love and cherish them. She knew Diane would do a great job

Diane looked at the file in front of her, the first one had a picture of a girl of around 13 or 14, and she had red hair, almost the exact same shade as Diane's.

"This is Zoey, she has just turned 13 years old she is from St Louis. Zoey's Mother died when she was 8, her Step Father was abusive to her and she went into care when she was 10. She has been in a children's home for 3 years other than a few quick stays with foster carer's"

"Why just short stays?" Diane asked, she knew she was going to have a tough road ahead of her, and didn't mind the hard work, but she wanted to know what she was letting herself in for.

"Zoey is very wary around men, those homes all had 2 parents, and we have since discovered that she would be best placed in a home with just females, which is why, I have suggested her for you today"

"What are her hobbies?" Diane asked. Kirsten was surprised by this question, most foster parents didn't ask this question, most just had a quick look through the profiles before moving onto the next one.

"She likes to dance, before her mother passed away she was a ballet dancer, but she gave that up a long time ago. She reads a lot and loves Disney movies"

"She sounds a lot like my niece Grace, does Zoey have any other family, you mentioned her Step Father, but what about a Father, Grandparents, Siblings"

"We don't know who her father is, her birth certificate has no name, she has one Grandfather who is still living, but he has dementia, and doesn't remember who Zoey is"

"How sad" Diane said as she touched the photo. She didn't know why, but Zoey seemed like the perfect child for Diane.

"There are a few more kids in here if you want to have a look; I have selected some younger kids. Most people want a younger child or a baby" Kirsten replied

"I don't think I need to look anymore, I mean if Zoey would like to meet with me, I would be happy to share my home with her"

Kirsten smiled, this made her happy, and she loved it when a child and parent just seemed right for one another

"I will speak to Zoey this evening, I'll tell her a bit about you and if she is happy we can arrange a meeting. We like to have a meeting or two first before we bring Zoey to stay, then if there is any problems we can move Zoey out and pick another child, but we would prefer not to do that.

"No, I'm sure we can work through any problems, the poor child has been through enough"

…..

"Are you ready for Lunch?" Will said as he walked into his wife's office

Alicia glanced at her watch "OK, how about we go to the café down the road, Lucy, are you ready"

"Why don't you both go, I'll just hang here"

"You had no breakfast, put your shoes and coat on and let's go" Alicia said

Lucy did as she was told, although she wasn't hungry at all.

"How was court Dad"

"It was good, we got a not guilty verdict" Will said to a smile from his wife, they both knew that was going to be a good payment to the company.

"Dad, was he guilty though, I mean what if he actually did it, I mean whatever it was and you helped him get off"

"It's not like that sweetheart; we follow the law and just help people to get a fair trial"

"So if he were poor, he shouldn't get as good a lawyer"

"Lucy, everyone is entitled to a lawyer, which is why we participate in legal aid. Not all companies do, but we feel that it's our moral obligation to" Alicia replied

"So, that's like your defence, its OK to get murderers off, so long as you participate in legal aid"

"Not everyone we deal with are murderers, we also work with Business men and woman, families going through divorce, adoptions and lots of innocent people have to be helped as well, everyone deserves representation and we give the best representation to everyone we can" Will said

"I understand, I just don't like the idea of murderers roaming the street"

"Nor do we sweetie" Will replied "Now, are you all ready for your audition?"

"Yes I think so, Dad can we still have a practice"

"Have you got much school work left?" Alicia asked

"No, it's all done" Lucy said

"Good Girl, but can you please eat your lunch, you have hardly touched your sandwich" Alicia replied as Lucy lifted her sandwich and took a few bites before putting it back down.

…

After Lunch Will took Lucy home to have a quick practice and then off to her audition, the audition was held in the groups own premises, which was on the outskirts of the City Centre.

"So what are you going to sing for us" Colin asked. Colin was the leader of the group, it was unusual for someone of Lucy's age to audition for the group, it was usually younger kids. Normally kids joined when they were 7 and could stay in the group until 21, but they didn't normally have new members older than 8 or 9.

"I.. I'd like to sing No Good Deed from Wicked please" Lucy said, as she sang the song, including the big loud notes and high notes perfectly.

"Lucy that was fabulous" Caitlin said, Caitlin was one of the other teachers from the group

"Thank you" Lucy replied

"Can you wait outside for a few moments and we will come back and get you" Colin said.

Lucy walked outside to find her father waiting, "how did it go kiddo" Will said

"Great, they said I was fabulous, but to wait outside for a few moments"

"That's my girl" Will smiled, A few moment later and Caitlin came out for her

"Lucy, your audition was great, but we have a few concerns, you can sing, and there is no denying that, but usually the kids who join us are much younger when they do, we just worry it may take a while to catch up"

"Oh, I'm sorry" Lucy replied

"No, never apologise for talent" Colin said "We would like you to join our group, if you want to, e just need to work on your dancing skill, but you will be an asset to our group. Your voice is out of this world, we just worry that your audition lacked confidence, but give it a few months and you will be a star"

Lucy smiled "Thank you so much"

"Is it your Father who is with you, why don't you bring him in so we can discuss membership options"

"Thank you" Lucy said again before brining her Dad in to go through payment and class times.

Thanks for your Reviews guys, I'm not really into writing depressing fan fictions detailing abuse, self , anorexia etc, and I promise that I would never write anything to dark but the next few chapters may have a little in it, but it will not be too bad, nothing that won't be suitable for a teenager, and it will only be for a chapter or two.