(no subject)

Moving in Turtle's stuff doesn't take long - the cop barely has anything. Bonnie knows Cassandra cleaned him out when they got divorced. The boys pitch in and they take his boxes of stuff up to her room.

Afterwards they have a meeting about house rules. Turtle, who spent some time in foster care himself as a kid, helps them negotiate the guidelines that he'll intervene if they're doing anything naughty or dangerous, but won't be making any unreasonable demands or dishing out punishments, which will be deferred to Bonnie.

"I don't expect any of you to accept me as a father." Turtle says. "And if you feel I overstep the line, you tell me. But you're all good kids and I'm happy to take as active a role as you will let me."

The first couple days the kids tread a little on eggshells around him, not least because they all have a criminal record. But the big cop tries to be reasonably unobtrusive, and they get through the first few days with no major disasters.

Something that threw Bonnie for six, however, was when a week later a car drew up and a familiar figure got out. It was Lucy that saw her first, and ran downstairs to tell Bonnie.

"Bonnie? Social worker's outside."

"Huh. Guess Cassandra didn't take kindly to bein' sued fer the damage at the weddin'." Bonnie says, going to open the door.



"What were you thinking?" the social worker asks, sitting opposite Bonnie in the living room and shaking her head.

"Well right now I'm thinkin' yer overreactin'." Bonnie says.

"Bringing in a new partner, a new baby even on the way, without even informing child protective services?" the social worker says.

"He's a cop, they're perfectly safe with him." Bonnie says. "They're gettin' used to each other but there's been no major issues."

"How did Ted break his arm?"

"He got in a fight." Bonnie says. "With a student at school. No criminal charges either side. He's a boy, boys fight."

"I have to interview the kids separately, you know that."

"No you don't." Stuart appears in the doorway. "I'm not acquiescing to relocating, and if you try and make me, I'll just run away and come back. I'm not transferring schools, I'm top of my class and I'm champion of the debate team."

"I'm not leaving either." Ted slopes up next to him. "Who do you think you're kidding anyway? She's the only one that wants us, and I'm not going to fucking military school."

"We received a report." the social worker says, realising she is losing control of this situation.

"I'm pretty sure that was malicious." Bonnie says. "We're suing Turtle's ex-wife fer crashing our wedding."

"I'm not discussing with you further." Stuart says. "You can't take us away, we've not done anything wrong, and neither has she. She's married, baby's being born in wedlock, you've no business to be here. I have homework to do."

"Stuart, can you step out, Ted, you need to come in and shut the door." The social worker says firmly. Stuart rolls his eyes and goes off. Ted comes in, glowering, and sits next to Bonnie.

"Ted was assessed as being unsuitable for placement with babies." The social worker says.

Bonnie looks over at Ted. This is news to her. The teenager stares at his feet, glaring.

"Why?" she asks.

"For the last time, I did not hurt that baby." Ted says, glaring at the social worker. "I just gave it some whiskey to stop it crying, Jean used to do it to Terry all the time."

"Jeez, he's only fifteen now, he cain't have been very old." Bonnie says, looking at the social worker, then back at Ted. "You gonna do it again?"

"No ma'am." Ted says.

"Well that's that then." Bonnie says. "There'll be three adults helpin' care fer this baby, I don't expect the boys to do any more than pull an amusin' face now and again." She sighs. "Anythin' else?"

"Just one thing." the social worker gets up, picking up her bag. "We've made contact with the boys' mother. We're arranging a visit."

Ted stares at her in stunned silence, before bolting out the room to find Stuart. Bonnie sighs again.

"You could have broken that more gently." she says. "Can you go now, please?"