A/N: The only juvenile detention facility in Phoenix (Maricopa County) is the Durango Center. The article "Paternity Tests Yield Conflicting Results" by Sewell Chan appeared in the Washington Post on October 28, 2002. While DNA tests have become more reliable over time, this part of the story takes place in 2000. While again, I'm not a lawyer, I did have a Facebook chat with a fellow writer who was simultaneously carrying on a chat with a family law attorney. He passed on my questions and I'm using the answers I got, plus details from "The Baby Brokers: Inside America's Murky Private-Adoption Industry" (Time, June 3, 2021) to inform this chapter. That being said, because I'm a little outside my wheelhouse, it's very possible I've messed up in a few spots. If so, I guess I can take small comfort in knowing that canon didn't always get everything right either.

Chapter Three

"You're quiet tonight," Ross said.

Dani sighed and smiled at her fiancé. "Work's getting me down, I guess," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't bring it up now—"

"Hey," Ross said. "It's not like I've never stayed late at the office, or brought a case home to work on. What's up? Flu outbreak?"

"No," Dani sighed again. "It's one of the new inmates. She came in about a month ago and today, I had to tell her she was pregnant. I shouldn't let that get to me, I know, but it is. The girl hasn't had an easy life; most of the inmates haven't. I guess I just… wish it didn't look as though it's about to get that much harder for her. And the kid's going to be starting out with a couple of strikes against it, too, so here's hoping that, if it's a girl, I don't see her in Durango in another fourteen years or so."

Ross shook his head in sympathy. "How old is this mother-to-be?"

"Barely seventeen. In and out of foster homes, dropped out of high school last year, hooked up with some career criminal and…"

"And she's about to become a mother," Ross finished.

"Well, that's not definite," Dani said. "I gave her the options; she's trying to decide. But even if she doesn't have the baby or surrenders it, I don't know what kind of chance she's going to have when she gets out. She'll be eighteen by then. Out of the system, still no money, no education, no real prospects…"

Ross nodded. "But, I mean, you're a nurse in a juvenile detention facility. What chance have those kids got in the first place?"

Dani gave an angry start. "She's a good kid, Ross! Most of them are, deep down. She's made some bad choices, sure, but that's not a reason to write her off as a lost cause!" She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Ross hesitated for an uncharacteristically long time. "This girl," he said slowly, "what did she do to end up in juvie?"

"Uh…" Dani tried to remember. "It wasn't anything violent. I think it was felony theft or possession of stolen property or something."

"So, nothing drug-related? And she doesn't have a history of substance abuse?"

"I…" Dani frowned. "Look, I know I haven't mentioned her name, but I'm still not sure I should be telling you the answer to that. Why do you want to know?"

Ross took even longer to answer this time. "I'm trying to confirm that she's not doing anything that's likely to impact her child-to-be. Fetal alcohol syndrome, crack babies—"

"Nothing like that," Dani said. "She doesn't even smoke. Why?"

Ross looked away guiltily. "I… I'm not sure if I should be telling you the answer to that. I want to. I've wanted to for months."

"Ross…?"

"I just don't know how you're going to react when I do. If word gets out, I could be disbarred. Maybe even go to prison."

Dani's eyes widened. "What the hell are you involved with?" she demanded. He was silent. "Ross, you know I love you. Passionately. But you've got to tell me what's going on!"

"Dani…"

"What could get you disbarred? What could mean prison time? Ross… what did you do?"

Ross twisted his fingers together nervously and swallowed hard several times. "I've… helped to facilitate fourteen black market adoptions in the last year, and I've had three times that many requests in the last three months."

Dani exhaled. "How…?"

"Word of mouth from satisfied customers," Ross said. "On both sides of the equation."

"What?"

"Look, the families that reach out to me, they want healthy newborns. They're ready to pay a lot for that. And they're also prepared to support the mothers-to-be during their pregnancies. Prenatal care, living expenses, you name it. It's a win-win for both sides."

"And you think that Emma… I mean, this girl…?" she amended hastily.

Ross nodded. "It's a possibility." He blinked. "You're taking this a lot better than I'd hoped."

"It sounds like you want these girls to have their best chance just like I do," Dani said slowly. "A-and if everyone's satisfied with the arrangement, maybe it's not such a terrible thing. How does it work, exactly?"

Ross took a gulp of coffee. "I'd meet with the girl, explain the arrangement and draw up a contract. She'd agree to do everything in her power to ensure the fetus's well-being: proper diet, prenatal checkups—"

"But prenatal care in juvenile detention is kind of spotty at best," Dani said. "And the food… Durango gets an allowance for each inmate, but it doesn't include extra for mothers-to-be. Getting her that kind of special treatment while she's incarcerated isn't going to be easy to arrange. Not without arousing notice," she added with a note of caution.

Ross frowned. "You said she's doing time for theft?"

"Something like that," Dani nodded. "I'd have to double-check. I know it's something that… probably would have got her probation if she were a state resident."

"But it's non-violent?" Ross probed. When Dani nodded, he smiled. "I think I can get a colleague of mine to represent her at a new hearing. She could serve out the remainder of her sentence under supervision in a halfway house. More freedom, better food, more ways for the adoptive parents to be to help her out… I think it could be her best chance. If she agrees to the arrangement."

Dani reached across the table and clasped his hand. "I'll see if I can find some pretext to talk to her tomorrow," she said. "In any case, she's scheduled to see me in another two weeks. Is that too long to wait?"

"It's not," Ross smiled. "Actually, two weeks gives me time to get things properly set up. I can't exactly afford to be sloppy," he added.

Dani nodded. Then she got up, came around behind his seat, slung an arm about his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I understand completely," she said warmly. "And I'm sure Emma will too."

"I have a lead for you," Sidney said without preamble.

Gold looked up from behind the counter. "You've discovered how I might obtain a set of Hazel-Atlas Florentine dinner plates?" he asked mildly.

"What?" Sidney blinked. "No, I mean for that project you asked me to help you with. I've been doing a little research online. Going into chatrooms for adoptive—and adopting—parents, sending out feelers, trying not to sound like an undercover police office…"

Gold dropped any pretense at disinterest. "And these efforts have born fruit?"

"I think they might have," Sidney nodded. "Someone private-messaged me in one of those chats, after I'd been lamenting the waiting period and wishing that there was some way of speeding things up. They told me that if I had the resources, there's a lawyer in Arizona who can streamline the process."

Gold gave a slight nod, his face betraying nothing. "I trust they furnished you with a name?"

"They did. And after that, I did a bit of digging on my own. It seems to check out. The man's arranged a number of private adoptions. Usually, the birth mother is young and, in some way, disadvantaged. Now, it wasn't easy to hack into financial transaction records, but it looks to me as though, once the woman agrees to sign on with this guy, her bank account receives deposits of a significant amount, usually every couple of weeks. Prenatal care improves, too. Now when the birth takes place, a lump-sum payment, usually equaling the total of all previous payments appears in the woman's bank account, and that's the last such deposit. It looks to me as though—"

"The mother is being paid handsomely to surrender her infant." Gold nodded slowly. "Well, well. I don't suppose this lawyer has a name?"

Sidney smiled. "Anderson. Ross Frederick Anderson in Phoenix, Arizona."

"I don't want an abortion," Emma said firmly. "I don't know if I can be a mother, but I know I can't do it alone. Can you… I mean, is there any way to find out what happened to my boyfriend?" She handed the newspaper page she'd saved to the nurse. "This is all I know."

Dani unfolded the page and skimmed the article. "I can make some inquiries," she said with a frown. "Emma, have you thought this through, though?"

"Yeah," Emma blinked. "That's why I want to get in touch with him. Maybe it's my decision whether to keep the baby, but I think I want to know Neal will want to be with me—or us—when he's done serving his sentence. And that's if he's sentenced at all. I mean, he could get off, right?"

Dani sighed. "I think you need to be realistic, Emma. About his trial and…" Her gaze was serious. "You're seventeen. How old is he?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. Twenty-one? Twenty-two? Why?"

"Because when a man in his twenties has sexual relations with a seventeen-year-old girl, that's statutory rape. Now, if his case hasn't gone to trial yet, the prosecution might want to add that charge to what he's already facing. Even if it has… This is an election year, Emma. Politically speaking, the DA's office doesn't want to be seen as being soft on sex offenders."

"Neal's not a—!"

"He's a man in his twenties who got a teenager pregnant," Dani interrupted her.

"What if I told him I was nineteen?"

Dani sighed. "Emma…"

Emma slumped in her chair. With her long blond hair falling forward, Dani thought she looked about fourteen or fifteen at the moment. "You going to tell someone?" she asked, fear palpable in her voice.

Dani hesitated. "I should," she said. "If I don't, there could be other girls like you down the road."

Emma caught the reluctance in the nurse's voice. "Please don't. He's already in enough trouble. And anyway," she said, "maybe it was someone else. Maybe I was drinking underage at some party and went with a guy I don't remember."

"Were you?"

"I don't remember," Emma said flatly.

Dani nodded. "I'm sorry, Emma. I can try to find out if there's been any update to this story," she tapped the newspaper for emphasis. "But if you don't want to add to your boyfriend's troubles," she went on, "even if you can contact him, I'd recommend against it. You're very much on your own for this."

Emma swallowed hard and nodded.

After the girl was gone, Dani was still asking herself if she was doing the right thing. She hadn't lied to Emma, but she had to admit that she might have slanted the narrative somewhat. She wanted Emma to have her best chance—and with a baby, whether or not the boyfriend was in the picture, she wouldn't. And what chance would the baby have with two criminals for parents? The best thing for everyone would be if Emma realized her child would be better off without her. And if Emma came to that realization, if she gave up her unborn child, if Ross handled the arrangements… Then Emma could come out of this situation with an early release from detention, excellent medical care, the promise that her child would get a better life than Emma could hope to provide, and enough financial compensation to ensure that Emma could get the education or training she needed to really make something of herself. It was a win-win.

Dani wondered how many times she'd need to repeat that to herself before she came to believe it.

Ross frowned at his latest email. He was tempted to delete it, in fact. He didn't like the idea that he might be developing this kind of reputation. The more a thing became known, the greater the chance of it coming to the attention of the wrong sort of people.

On the other hand, this 'Mr. Gold' had dropped one of the right names—that of a couple whose child's adoption he'd 'facilitated' almost a year ago. He looked over the documentation that had been forwarded. Single parent adoptions were becoming more common now. Mr. Gold's client was a mayor in her thirties. A small seaside town in Maine… Even if people talked about his 'service' there, the odds of word getting back to Phoenix were small. And he did have a contact at an adoption agency in Boston who could handle the arrangements, once he'd found a suitable child.

He leaned forward in his chair and began to draft a response.

"I'm still not having an abortion," Emma said flatly, almost before Dani could greet her. Something about the stubborn set of her jaw told Dani that the girl had probably been getting some 'well-meaning' advice to the contrary, either from another staff member or a fellow inmate. "I don't know yet if I'm keeping the baby or not, but I'm definitely having her. Or him. Whichever." She tilted her head inquiringly. "Can I find out?" She asked. "Whether it's a boy or a girl?"

Dani nodded. "You'll have at least one ultrasound." She took a breath. "Emma, I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you, but if you did decide to give the baby up for adoption, I've been speaking to a-a friend," she hesitated for the barest instant, before deciding not to reveal that it was actually her boyfriend, "about your situation. I didn't mention names," she added. "I only discussed matters in general terms."

"Uh… okay," Emma prompted, when Dani seemed to be waiting for a response.

"He's a lawyer," the nurse went on. "He's handled a number of adoptions. If you're willing," she continued, "he can try to find a placement for your baby even before it's born. If you go that route," she took a breath, "because the adopting family would want your baby to have its best chance, they would support you during your pregnancy."

"So… what?" Emma asked blankly. "They'd send me letters telling me how much they appreciate my giving them my baby?"

Dani shook her head, but she was smiling. "It goes quite a bit beyond that. First, they'd make sure that you were getting adequate nutrition. The meals here are fine for one person, but you're eating for two. And I'm afraid we don't normally stock—nor have the budget for—prenatal vitamins. They would pay your medical costs. And Emma…"

She leaned forward and Emma shrank back nervously when she thought that the nurse might be about to hug her.

"I'm sorry!" Dani said at once. "I shouldn't have… But," she took a breath. "They'd also be willing to hire a lawyer for you. One who could arrange for a new hearing."

Emma blinked. "That's good, right?"

"It's excellent," Dani said, smiling broadly now. "My friend thinks that because you're still a minor, because you've been convicted of a non-violent crime, and because it's been established that you weren't involved in the initial theft of the watches, it's probable that you could serve out the remainder of your sentence in a halfway house. There'd be supervision," she added. "I can't promise you won't have to wear an ankle monitor. But you'd be out of here. You'd be able to see a doctor whenever you needed to. And after the baby's born, there'd be a final lump-sum settlement, likely enough to pay for a couple of years of post-secondary schooling, so you could train for something better than a minimum wage job. Is that something that might interest you?"

Emma fought hard not to smile back. "How long do I have to decide?"

"Well," Dani said, "obviously, the sooner the agreement is finalized, the sooner the prospective family can start taking care of you. The juvenile justice system moves much faster than the adult court, as I think you've realized. I don't know exactly how long it would take to schedule a hearing, but I shouldn't think it'd take more than a few weeks. Days, perhaps," she added.

Emma frowned. "What if I change my mind?" Emma asked. "Do I end up back here?"

"No," Dani said at once. "Once you're out, assuming you don't violate the terms of your release—which have nothing to do with the terms of the adoption arrangement—you'll be out. Of course, the funding from the adoptive family will stop and you might have to reimburse any funds they've already paid out for you, but that's a separate matter." She took a breath. "What do you think?" Then, quickly, "You don't have to let me know right away, but you do need to decide soon—"

"No." Emma took a deep breath and met Dani's excited smile with a guarded one of her own. "No, it's okay; I don't need any more time. It's okay," she repeated, hoping her nervousness didn't show. "Okay, I'll do it."

Dani realized she'd been holding her breath and exhaled. "I'll talk to my friend," she said. "Hopefully, we can get the ball rolling on this before the week's out."

Emma nodded. This was her baby's best chance, and it was hers too. Her baby would grow up in a stable home, not bounced around in the system like she'd been. Meanwhile, she'd be looked after during her pregnancy. She'd have enough money to make a fresh start afterwards. Even better than that, once she was out of Durango, Emma had a feeling she'd be able to learn where Neal was, and how long she'd have to wait until they could be together again. If she could find out that much, if she could talk to him about the situation, if she knew he'd be there for her once he got out... then maybe she could keep the baby after all.