Faith was running late and she knew it. She sighed at the thought of the amount of trouble she would be in once her parents got a hold of her. They had constantly reminded her about how she was supposed to be on her best behavior and act like the polite little girl they wish she would be. They also had said that if she didn't do exactly what they had told her to she would regret it. By do exactly what they told her they meant she was supposed to lie to the judges about how amazing they were at being parents. She didn't really want to do this though because lying was bad and if she said they were good parents she might have to stay with them, which is something she definitely does not want to do.

Maybe today would work out well and she would never have to see them again. Rose had told her that if things go well she would get to live with her. Living with Rose would be like a dream come true for Faith. Rose was ten million times nicer than her own parents were.

Faith hadn't planned on being late, but there had been a mix up of coats and Samantha had taken hers because Jennifer had taken Samantha's because Jennifer had forgotten she had left hers at home. By the time they had finally figured out that and she had started the long walk to the court house it was already three ten. The walk would take at least twenty minutes and she was supposed to be there at three thirty. This meant if she walked quickly the whole time she would make it. That plan went wrong when her old backpack that she had gotten from the dollar store four years ago that she used for school had ripped. She then spent five minutes collecting all her stuff and trying to clean off the mud that had gotten on her math book. Then there was the accident that had one of the roads she had to take blocked off. Finally, fifteen minutes after she should have gotten there Faith was turning the corner by the court house.

Not paying attention to what she was doing Faith ran right into a man who was also distracted by something.

"Sorry sir" Faith mumbled as she once again started picking up all her school supplies.

"No problem just as much my fault as it was yours" The man said.

Faith looked up recognizing the man's voice. "Doctor?" she asked surprised to see the insane man from her backyard once again.

"Faith! What are you doing here?" The doctor asked.

"What am I doing here? I live in this town! You on the other hand have only ever been here twice, so a better question is what you are doing here"

"Oh well I am umm looking for something, something you might be able to help me find actually"

"Well what are you looking for" Faith asked excited to help the strange man.

"I'm looking for a tree" The doctor said.

"A tree" Faith repeated slightly disappointed. She had expected it to be something slightly more interesting than a tree.

"Yes a tree" the doctor confirmed "But not just any old tree, no, I'm looking for a big tree. Like a superdy-dupper big tree that shouldn't be as big as it is"

"Well there's the one by the school" Faith supplied thinking of the giant tree that you could easily hid multiple people behind.

"Ahh School, children, learning, of course! Why didn't I think of it before?" The doctor turned and started running towards the school but he suddenly stopped. "Faith you were in a rush, did I make you late? I could give you a ride if you'd like" His eyes were twinkling when he said ride as if he didn't mean in a car.

"No that's alright I'm just going down the road"

The Doctor face fell "Okay then I'd better be off. Bye Faith" The Doctor said taking off once again.

"Bye Doctor" She called after him unsure if he actually heard her or not.

Faith looked at her watch which read three fifty. "I am so dead" faith whispered to herself before sprinting to the Court House nearly running into a police box she could have sworn wasn't there before.

Faith ran into the room and took her seat between her mother and her father. "And where have you been?" her mother sneered but kept her voice at a whisper "It's as if you're trying to make us look bad"

"I'm sorry there was a problem with the coats and then my back pack ripped and the accident and then the doctor and I'm really sorry" Faith stuttered afraid of what her parents were going to do to her.

Before her mom could reply one of the people in a suit noticed she was there. "Ahh Faith I'm glad you could make it. Would you mind coming up and answering a few questions for me?" he smiled brightly motioning to a chair by the judge.

Faith looked around nervously until she spotted Rose who was nodding encouragingly at her. Slowly Faith got up and made her way to the front and sat in the chair.

"Faith my name is Mr. Simons and I'm going to ask you some questions that I want you to answer as best as you can okay" the suit man said.

Faith nodded so he began asking questions. "Faith can you tell me who those people are" he asked pointing to her parents.

"That's my mom and dad" she answered smiling at the silly question.

"And to you like your parents" He asked.

"Well they are my parents' don't I have to like them?"

"No you don't if they are mean to you you don't have to like them"

Faith looked over at her parents then looked at Rose and she decided what she was going to do. She decided to tell the truth and hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with her parents reaction like Rose said. "No I don't like them"

Mr. Simmons smiled "Is that because the are mean to you" faith nodded so he continued "Do they hurt you" again faith nodded "How do they hurt you"

"They hit me a lot and leave bruises so I always have to wear long sleeves otherwise people stare"

Mr. Simmons nodded as if he expected that answer. "Faith you were late today can you explain why?"

"Umm well my coat got mixed up with the other girls and then my bag ripped on the way home cause it was old and then I had to clean the mud off my math book and there was an accident on so I had to take the long way here. Oh and I stopped because a man was asking me questions"

"What man?"

"Umm he is a man I meet on my way here. He was very nice asking me questions and he even offered to give me a ride here but I was just down the road so I said no"

Mr. Simmons was shocked at what she had just said, assuming the Doctor had other intention than actually giving Faith a ride here. "Thank you Faith that will be all" he said composing his features.

"Umm Mr. Simmons" Faith said meekly.

"Yes" he said surprised the young girl would talk after already being dismissed.

"Could I go sit down by Rose I don't want to sit where I was earlier"

Mr. Simmons gave her a warm smile "Of course you can"

Happily Faith jumped down from the tall chair she had been sitting in and walked over to the open chair next to Rose. When she sat down Rose put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulders. "Good job sweetheart" Rose whispered into her ear.

Across the court room both her parents were sending glares her way, but Faith barely noticed. She stayed next to Rose feeling safe for the first time in a very long time. The only time she left her side was when Faith was once again called up to answer questions, but this time she was asked about Rose. Eagerly Faith told the man about how they meet when faiths parents had left her alone for the night, about McDonalds, and about all the other things she and Rose had done together. By the time Faith was able to sit back down again, everyone had been thoroughly convinced that Rose was a much more suitable parent then the Wiaras were. Needless to say when Faith was leaving the Court house that afternoon she was getting into Rose's car, her parents nowhere in sight.

"So how do you want to celebrate?" Rose asked Faith after the Court House was completely out of sight.

"Can we go to McDonalds again?" Faith asked bouncing in her seat. "Oh and then can we can go to that new ice cream place down the road?"

Rose chuckled at the hyper girl "Of course we can sweetheart whatever makes you happy"

"Really?"

"Really"