Lee's eyes widened at Glenn's pronouncement. "What do you mean they were hurting her? If you weren't there, how do you know?"

"Because the place I was staying...well, they actually acted like they cared more than the other place where my sisters were and they let me visit her the second day she was there. They woulda' let me visit my sisters at the girls' home too 'cause when they can, they try to work with other placed for kids like us to keep families together if they move on to foster care. But the one the girls were in didn't and they didn't allow visitors unless it's someone wanting to foster or adopt the girls there. They were more about just trying to get rid of the kids they had by sending them off to foster homes 'cause they got more girls than they have room for. They don't give a crap about keeping families together."

"But if the foster parents really were hurting you little sister, why would they let you visit?"

The boy shrugged. "I think it was 'cause they couldn't get her to stop crying, 'specially at night. She didn't wanna' be there without Sunny because she was scared. Since it woulda' been a pain for them to get Sunny out of her place without having to wait a long time, I think they thought I could help, so they set it all up and the man even came and got me. When I got there, I went to hug Ivy and she kinda'...I don't know...whimpered a little like she was hurt."

Lee finally pulled the flyer from his pocket and inquired, "Is that what this is all about?"

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't gonna' turn us in," the boy said in an accusing tone.

"I'm not. I just wanna' know what happened. I saw this when I was shopping and I found out that there's a police report out there." He went on to explain what he'd learned.

"Figures," Glenn grumbled. "They hurt my sister and want me to look like the bad guy when they're the bad guys."

"Why would you look like a bad guy?"Lee probed, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. He was wondered if the kid would own up to it.

"'Cause I'm the one who broke the backdoor. I had to get her out of there so they couldn't hurt her anymore," he insisted.

"Why didn't you go to the police yourself?"

"Oh sure, like that would do any good. It'd just be some dumb kid's word against the grown-ups. They always treat kids like they're stupid."

"Not me. I don't think you're stupid at all, but I do think you made a dumb mistake because now the police think Ivy's been kidnapped."

"Rescuing someone is not kidnapping!"

"Maybe not from your point of view, but the police see it a little differently. I know you thought you were just doing what was best for your little sister, but if you didn't feel you could go to the police, why didn't you tell someone at the boys' home?"

"Because it takes too long for them to do something about it when it's not one of their kids."

Lee nodded and switched gears when he realized he wasn't going to get around kid logic on that issue. "So, if you're the one who rescued Ivy, how did Sunny get involved if she was in a different place? I mean, how'd you all end up here together?"

"Oh, that. Sunny's stupid and runs away all the time. That's why they put her in that place with stricter rules. They did have us all in the same place at first...one of those bigger ones where they have boys and girls on separate floors, but still in the same house, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the kind you mean. Go on."

"Well, the last time Sunny ran away when they said they were gonna' split us up, we decided that no matter what, we'd be together for Christmas. So, we made a plan for where to meet and when."

"That makes sense, but there's one thing I'm confused about. If it was just Sunny running away, I can understand why they'd want her in a place that's harder to do that in, but why did they split the rest of you up?"

"Because of Ivy," he explained. "Same thing like I told you about with her foster parents. Once Sunny was gone, she wouldn't stop crying at night because she was scared to be all alone and they wouldn't let me be with her because of the rule about boys and girls on separate floors."

"You ran away too, didn't you?"

He nodded. Hearing Lee tell his story about running away when he was only six gave him courage to tell his own. "Yeah. I took Ivy with me and started hitchhiking. It was kinda' like your story from when you were a kid. Even though I lied about where we were s'posed to be, the people who picked us up still figured it out and took us right back, so they put Ivy in the same place with Sunny thinking it might keep her calm if they were together and sent me to the boys' home. But it's stupid 'cause they don't even try to understand why she gets so scared at night."

"Does it have anything to do with why Sunny has those scars on her arm?" When Glenn looked at him in surprise, he explained, "Amanda saw them when she was helping with dinner."

Glenn nodded in understanding. That explained why his sister had been so upset earlier. He made a sour face and shook his head. "I...uh...I can't talk about that. Sunny would really kill me."

"She doesn't have to know," Lee pressed, hoping that he gained enough of the child's trust for him to keep going.

"I...uh...I-"

Their conversation was interrupted by Jamie entering the room. "Hey, Glenn, the bathroom's all yours," he informed the younger boy.

Dammit, Lee swore internally, but still he smiled at his stepson. "You all ready for bed?"

"Yep," Jamie nodded.

"Well, then I guess I'd better go see what your brother is up to. "You know how he gets if we don't keep on him."

He left the two boys alone and as he re-entered the hallway, he couldn't help thinking about the desperate situation these kids were in. He believed Glenn when he said the foster parents were hurting Ivy. While he'd never been in that situation himself, he'd seen plenty of kids who had been, but he worried that if they reported it, those kids would be right back where they started, in separate group homes and unlikely to ever see each other again.

He let out a sigh, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as his mind turned it over and over. He knew all too well from seeing it in the boys' home he'd been in that it was rare that orphaned siblings were kept together if they were sent to foster care or adopted. "But why couldn't we keep them together?" he questioned aloud. Amanda had suggested adopting an older child, the kind who fell through the cracks of the system. She hadn't suggested three, but they were buying that big house where they'd have plenty of room for them, so it could definitely work. Now, the question was how to get his wife to consider it.

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While Lee was having his heart-to-heart with Glenn, Amanda was still trying to earn Sunny's trust. "Here you go," she said cheerily as she handed her the promised bubble bath. "Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to add a little to the master bath too for Ivy. I figured while you're relaxing, I'd help her get a bath and I thought she'd enjoy the bubbles too."

"You don't have to. I'll do it...get her bath first, then take mine," Sunny countered.

Amanda caught onto the torn look on the girl's face. She wanted the time to herself and to enjoy the bubble bath, but for some reason also didn't want Amanda helping with Ivy.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Amanda replied. "Besides, with 7 people and 3 bathrooms, we need to use them as efficiently as possible..." She wondered if Sunny were protesting because Ivy had similar scars to her own. Was that why'd they'd run away? "...Unless there's something else you don't want me to know." She nodded to the girl's left arm "Did she get hurt like you did?" At seeing her flinch, Amanda quickly added, "You don't have to tell me what happened and I won't pressure you to tell me anything you're not comfortable with, but I am a little worried about all of you."

Finally Sunny heaved a deep sigh and nodded. "She got hurt, but not like me. It was different."

Amanda saw a flash of anger flit across the teen girl's face combined with a guilty look she'd seen on her husband's face too many times to count. "Listen, I know you think it's your job to protect your little sister and your brother, but you can't always protect them from everything."

"But if I don't do it, who will?"

"Well, how about us? Lee and me, I mean. We're pretty good at protecting people."

"Maybe, but you're just here for Christmas, right? Then you're going back where you belong."

"That's true," Amanda agreed. "But that's still a week away so how about for right now, you let someone else help a little? You've taken on a lot of grown-up responsibility and I respect that, but you are still allowed to be a kid yourself...have a little fun."

She clutched the bottle of bubble bath tightly and gave Amanda a slight smile. "I will," she promised. "And by the way, Ivy does love bubbles." She then turned toward the empty hallway bathroom.

"Come on, Ivy, let's go get you in the tub," she called to the younger girl.

"Coming," the little girl called back as she ran to meet Amanda who took her by the hand and led her into the master bath. "Bubbles!" she squealed excitedly when she saw the bathwater Amanda had made for her.

Amanda smiled. "I thought you might like that. Now, let's get you undressed. You probably need a little help with the buckles on your overalls."

"I can do it. I'm a big girl," she protested as she struggled with the buckles.

"Well, I'm a big girl too, but I still sometimes have to have Lee help me with zippers if they're on the back of my dress."

"You do?" Ivy's eyes widened in surprise as she paused in her task.

"Sure, I do. And my boys had a little trouble with these when they were younger too. We all need a little help sometimes." She couldn't help laughing a bit that Ivy seemed to have adopted a little of her sister's independent streak.

Ivy tried one more time and gave up with an overly dramatic sigh. "Okay, you do it."

"Okay," Amanda agreed and made quick work of slipping the buckles out of their loops. "All done. Can you manage the rest by yourself?"

The girls nodded and was doing all right until she tried to pull her sweater over her head and got it stuck. "I'll help you," Amanda offered and gave the sweater a gentle tug to pull it over Ivy's head. "Okay, all done. Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Amanda's smile soon became a frown when Ivy turned to climb into the tub and she spotted the green-ish bruises on her back. She wasn't sure what she'd expected when Sunny had told her that Ivy had been hurt, but it certainly hadn't been seeing bruises that looked only a few days old. She shook her head as she recalled that Ivy had been reported missing three days ago by her foster parents and that they'd had her for two days. She'd seen her boys getting banged up enough playing sports that she knew from experience that that was just about the right amount of time for a bruise to be that color. But that's no sports injury, she thought miserably.

"What happened to your back? That looks like it hurts."

"Fell down," the girl replied as she settled into the tub and immediately began playing with the bubbles.

Amanda snorted at her response. She knew from her work with kids that was the standard response kids were taught to give when being abused and it very rarely turned out to be true, especially not bruises like that and located where they were across her lower back. This was done by someone who was skilled at knowing just where to hit somebody without leaving any obvious sign of it. No wonder the older kids had broken into the foster parents' home to take Ivy away and it definitely explained why they'd been so afraid she'd turn them in.

She shook off those nagging thoughts and turned her attention to the task at hand. "Let's get your hair washed," she said as she reached for the shampoo bottle. "Since my boys are older, I don't have any kid's shampoo, so I'm going to need you to close your eyes, okay?"

"'Kay."

"It's too bad I don't have any bathtub toys for you to play with," Amanda mused as she continued with her task. "I used to have a ton of them in the bathroom at home, but my boys have gotten a little too old for them now."

"That's okay. I like playing with the bubbles," Ivy said cheerfully as she scooped up a handful of them and blew at them to watch them float away.

"Be careful until I'm done washing your hair. We don't want to get it in your eyes."

The rest of Ivy's bath time passed without incident, but it had gotten Amanda's already busy mind working overtime as she helped her get dressed for bed. She wondered if she and Lee should file their own report about the abuse Ivy had obviously suffered, but then also wondered if that would put the kids in a worse position by revealing their location. At the same time, she couldn't help thinking of how both Lee and her mother had reminded her of her long-ago desire for a little girl of her own, which was starting to come back to her with caring for these children. That thought then led her back to the subject of adoption she and Lee had discussed. Why couldn't they solve both their problem and the orphans' by adopting them? Then the kids could stay together and she and Lee could put the baby topic on hold indefinitely. She just wasn't sure how to broach the subject with Lee when he seemed to want a child of his own so badly.