Chapter 9
Eclipse was working from home that day when his four friends called and he answered, putting them all on the conference call. "Good afternoon," he said politely.
"Sorry to disturb you, Eclipse, but we felt this couldn't wait," one of the men said.
"Go ahead," the animatronic said, having a feeling he knew what this was about.
"We found a lot of dirt on Mia's former social worker and sadly, Mia wasn't the only one that was mistreated by that woman," one lady said. "And get this? Everything Mia told us, the other kids that our buddies spoke to had either similar or the exact same stories."
"All of them?" Eclipse asked, stunned. "That's not a coincidence."
"Indeed not," the other man of the group agreed.
"We've called up a judge who specializes in these cases and he's agreed to take on the case. In fact, he said because this case involves a child who was mistreated, he's moved it to the front of his pile to be looked at and you have a court hearing with him in two days," the other lady of the group said.
"That quickly?" The animatronic said in surprise. "He's aware of everything?"
They all nodded. "Apparently, he has a granddaughter who went through a similar instance and he swore he'd bring whoever mistreated children to justice," the first man said. "He's ruthless at putting people who hurt children behind bars, especially if the people are in positions of power."
Eclipse felt concerned. "Are we certain he's the best one to handle this then?" He asked. "No offense, but I'm worried this may backfire."
"No worries, Eclipse," the first lady that had spoken said, smiling gently. "The judge is very thorough with his rulings and he's already contacted everyone who needs to be there and believe me, in cases like this, whoever he calls to be there is there, no matter what."
He nodded. "Alright," he said before taking a deep breath. "Will Mia have to be present?"
They understood his concern. "It is best if she is," the second lady said gently. "Don't worry. The courthouse has the best security in cases like this. She'll be safe."
He nodded again. "Alright, what time are we needed to be there?" He asked.
As soon as he was told, he wrote it down and thanked his friends, signing off and calling his boss to let him know what happened. His boss graciously understood that this was something that couldn't be skipped and agreed to let him take half a day at work. "Good luck, Eclipse," his boss had said. "Hopefully it will go smoothly and all the loose ends will be neatly tied up."
"I hope so too, sir," the animatronic said.
Mia was working on homework when Eclipse knocked on her open bedroom door. She turned and smiled. "Hi, Dad," she said, getting up. "I was just working on some Math homework. I'm nearly done."
"Go ahead and finish up then," he said with a nod. "But after you're done, I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay," she said, though she felt a bit anxious. "Come on in, Dad."
He entered and sat down on his daughter's bed while she finished up the last bit of homework and then got up and sat next to him. "Dad, is everything okay?" She asked.
He took a deep breath. "Pumpkin, remember when you spoke to my friends about your former social worker?" He asked.
"Yes?" She said, looking curious.
"They recently got in touch with a judge with information that they've found on that lady and the judge, upon learning that this case involved a child that was mistreated, has agreed to hear us out, to testify against your former social worker."
Mia blinked as she thought about this. "You mean...a trial to...possibly put her in jail?" She asked.
He nodded. "Or at the very least, take away her power to be a social worker," he said. "My friends found other kids that she's represented and they all have a similar if not the same story you do, kiddo." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can help make sure she never mistreats anyone again."
"A first-hand source?" The teenager asked.
"Exactly," he said. "I'll be there with you during the trial, sweetie."
Mia looked at him. "When is the court date?" She asked.
"In two days," Eclipse said. "The judge doesn't want to waste any time on giving you and those other kids the justice you all deserve."
The teenager took a deep breath and bit her lip before a look of resolve came to her face and she nodded. "Okay," she said. "I guess we have to tell my teacher then, huh?"
"I'll do so tomorrow morning."
Two days passed quickly and Mia clung to Eclipse as they stood before the judge, who was looking over the evidence before him before he looked up at them. "Mr. Eclipse, correct me if I am wrong, but the child beside you was left at the gate of your home to walk up to the door by herself with only a suitcase that contained only a few items that the child owned? And there was not a change of clothes in that suitcase?"
"You are correct, Your Honor," the animatronic said.
"And the child has a past with an animatronic terrifying her to where she ended up in the hospital, yet that was ignored by her social worker?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
Mia's former social worker glared at them and Mia took a quiet, yet shaky breath, which her father noticed and gently tightened his hold on her to comfort her. The judge looked at the teenager and his face softened at seeing how nervous she was. "You are Mia, young one?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes, Your Honor," she replied.
"Would you be willing to tell the courts what happened the day you were dropped off at Mr. Eclipse's house?"
"Yes, sir," she said, pausing to take a deep breath. "My former social worker, who is here today, left me at the gate and told me that my new foster family knew I was arriving and I could go up to the door by myself. She also said she didn't want to hear another word about me as she had been getting complaints from the other foster homes I was in."
Her former social worker opened her mouth to speak, but the judge silenced her with a look. "And these complaints were the reasons you were moved from said foster homes?"
"Yes, sir."
"And the night you were in the hospital after the animatronic incident. What happened then?"
"I was called a liar, sir. And I was told that I would never be adopted if I asked my foster families."
A murmur ran through the court and the judge nodded. "How were you treated at your foster homes after your social worker dropped you off?" He asked.
"I was treated like an unwanted stranger, sir," Mia said. "I had to steal food just to eat because I wasn't given any food to eat."
The judge was quiet as another murmur ran through the court. "What happened when you arrived at Mr. Eclipse's house?"
She took a deep breath. "I was scared at first when I went inside and was greeted by animatronics," she admitted. "I ran and hid, but Mr. Eclipse found me and though I was scared, he comforted me and showed me that I didn't have to be afraid. In fact, he was the first foster parent to actually use my name to address me. No one else had."
She stepped a bit away from Eclipse and he let her go, nodding to her and she faced the judge again, standing a bit in front of the podium. "When the others learned of what I had been through, they did everything to make sure I felt welcomed. They gave me a room, clothes to wear, and even made sure I had enough food. Some of them even fixed some of my things that needed to be repaired and they were all very upset at how I had been treated before."
"Have they ever made you feel unwelcome or have made you feel like you didn't belong?"
"No, sir," she said. "They've been the best family I could ever ask for. Even when I asked Mr. Eclipse to adopt me, despite being afraid he'd send me back into the system, they all came together to assure me that I was more than welcome to become one of the family. Mr. Eclipse promised me that he'd never send me back into the system and he agreed to adopt me."
The judge nodded. "You swear that everything you have told this court is the full truth, young one?" He asked.
"Yes, sir," Mia said with confidence. "I have no reason to lie to this court."
He nodded and turned to the social worker, who was looking quite red in the face. "Ma'am? Would you like to speak?" He asked.
She stood up, but turned to Mia. "You lying little rat!" She yelled and ran over to the girl, reaching her in three steps, but before she could grab the teenager, Mia ducked and swerved around the lady, causing her to trip and fall to the floor. Mia quickly ran over to Eclipse, who scooped her up and held her protectively as he glared at the woman being helped up by the court officers.
"Don't you dare try to hurt my daughter," he growled at her.
The judge banged his gavel for order and he motioned to the court officers. "Officers, arrest her," he said.
Mia's former social worker was taken away in handcuffs and the judge signed his signature on the papers in front of him to show he had read them. "Her sentencing will be held at a later date, but I assure you, Mr. Eclipse, that woman's behavior will count against her, as will your statements and your daughter's statements. Court is dismissed."
Eclipse breathed a sigh of relief and hugged his daughter comfortingly as she clung to him. They headed home and it wasn't even a day later that Eclipse got word that Mia's former social worker was sentenced to not only prison, but she would be on house arrest when she was released and she'd never be allowed to be a social worker again or do any work that involved children.
When the family heard that, a sigh of relief ran through them all. "Our Mia is finally safe," Moon said, smiling as he ruffled his niece's hair gently.
"We don't have to go back to court again, do we, Dad?" Mia asked.
"No, pumpkin," he said with a smile. "That's all over."
She smiled happily and hugged him, feeling the rest of her family join the hug. "You guys are the best," she said. "I can't ask for a better family."
"Same," Sun said and the others echoed him before Eclipse scooped up his daughter and tickled her sides, making her giggle.
"Monty, put the call in for some take out," the tall animatronic said as he let his daughter escape and hide behind Roxy, who laughed and hugged her.
"You got it," the gator said.
"Party time!" Chica chirped.
Mia giggled happily before feeling a large hand ruffle her hair and she saw it was her father, who smiled and kissed her forehead in affection. "Love you, pumpkin," he said.
"Love you too, Dad," she said, hugging him again as the celebration continued.
Someone asked me about what happened with Mia's former social worker and so here it is. :)
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418