BIRDIE NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THIS KIND OF FEAR IN HER ENTIRE LIFE BEFORE. She had seen countless of dead and massacred bodies piling into the hospital in the days following The Incident, she had stood in a courtroom and stared down a man who had murdered three women, she had seen and experienced things that she couldn't even remember, but nothing could have prepared her for this.

"Mom, Ms. Kimberly wants you to come in for a meeting," Remy said as he climbed into the car, passing over the envelope his teacher had strictly instructed him to only show his mother, making him promise not to read it himself.

Birdie nearly crashed the car into the parking meter. She pulled her feet away from the gas and turned to look at her son, eyes wide, holding her breath as she stared at the envelope he was waving in front of her face, impatiently waiting for her to take it from him.

"You okay, mom?" he asked, watching as she took it from him and placed it carefully in her bag before turning her attention back to driving, backing out of the parking space and heading home, not saying a word.

When the two arrived home, Remy just climbed out of the car and headed to his room, figuring that he would let his mother deal with whatever she was upset about by herself, not wanting to get in trouble for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

While her son went to hide in his room, Birdie went to her own, sitting on the foot of her bed and staring at the white envelope in her shaking hands as she wondered where she had gone wrong. Because whatever Remy had done, that was on her and her inability to give him what he needed, and God help her if he hurt someone.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully opened the painfully white paper, pulling out a similarly colored one, folded up as if to increase the tension. She couldn't help but wait a moment, not wanting to see what it had to say.

She never thought this day would come, but if it did, she always expected that she wouldn't be alone to handle it.

She unfolded the paper and scanned the words, searching for any indication that she wasn't a failure of a mother like she and everyone else was most certain of, no matter how much they tried to hide it from her.

Dear Ms. Walsh,

Due to recent concerns and news that have been brought to my attention, I would like to request that you come in on Wednesday, November 6th, to discuss Remy's current situation in and out of the classroom. To clarify, this is not the same as the Parent/Teacher Conference at the beginning of the school year, this is a one-on-one meeting to discuss specific concerns in detail. I hope to see you on Wednesday, and I hope you have a good rest of your week.

Sincerely,
Kimberly Archambault

Birdie took a deep breath as she covered her face with the letter. This did not do anything to calm her nerves. The sterile, if not foreboding, tone of the request did not create the image of the meeting being positive in any way, yet it didn't say in any way that it wasn't.

She was left completely helpless and she hated the feeling. She was out of control and she was both terrified and filled with a kind of anger she could never place, no matter how many years it had been.

She stood and set the envelope on her nightstand, grabbing her laptop and getting to work. She was planning on going back to the office, but decided to just work from home, texting Stacey not to come. She needed to just work straight and finish preparing for the case she was taking to court the next day.

She had been planning on going home and sleeping once that mess was over, but it seemed she had another problem waiting just around the corner.

º º º

"You ready?"

Birdie took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from sweating as she and Jayne stood just outside of the courtroom. This wasn't going to be easy, what with the press all over it and her main witness being more flighty than even Mark.

"No," Birdie hissed, staring at Jayne with wide eyes as she tried not to panic, "I'm not even sure if my witness is still here, I've got the press all over this, and I've got a parent-teacher meeting right after. I'm not ready."

"You can do it," Jayne said, reaching out and placing her hands on her shoulders, "Stay strong. You can do this. We're just gonna take this one step at a time. You already told security not to let him leave, right?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Jayne smiled, "Now all you have to do is walk in there in..." she checked her watch, eyes widening slightly, "Right now, win this, then go see Remy's teacher. But we don't worry about the last part until later, because you have a job to do and I believe in you!"

With that, Birdie was pushed into the courtroom, the momentum propelling her forward and her legs moving of their own accord, her heels clicking against the floor as she made her way towards her table, head held high as she arranged her things, going over her plan and readying herself for the onslaught.

She went through the motions, her body and mind seemingly separating as the trial began. She made her opening statement, moving to speak in front of the jury, going through her planned speech with all the inflection and emotion that she always presented, yet she could barely remember what she said once she sat, hardly in focus as her mind raced far ahead of the present.

The only time her mind and body worked as one was when it came time for the cross examinations, paying close attention to what the prosecution said to her witness and what they said to their own.

As she stood up to speak, it was as if she was underwater, a feeling not uncommon to her in her years of working as a defense attorney. It was not unlike how she felt back when she was a nurse, especially when she was working the days right after The Incident. She was fully present, yet there was a humming in her ears, as if she was underwater and almost watching herself work, yet her mind moved with her mouth and everything was set into overdrive.

"Objection!"

She jolted ever so slightly at the harsh shout from the ADA, shocked back into action, listening for the judge's call.

"I'll allow it," the man said, nodding towards the witness she had called, "You may answer."

She watched with a smirk as the despicable man in front of her proceeded to destroy any chance of the prosecution winning the case. She didn't even try to ask any more questions, instead choosing to return to her table with an airy, but firm, 'nothing further,' taking a seat.

"We will continue tomorrow morning, court is adjourned," the judge called, ignoring the ADA's plea to finish his cross before the end, stating that it was late and there would be no problem in him resuming his cross the next day.

With a smirk, Birdie began to pack up her things, feeling proud of herself as she nodded civilly towards the ADA, whom she knew personally and was rather good friends with, though that was a statement she used rather loosely.

"Good job," Jayne whispered as they stepped outside, squeezing her shoulder, "For all the press, there's no denying what just went down in there."

Birdie nodded and gave her a pursed smile, the two stepping out of the courthouse, only to be bombarded with the press, all of them shouting and asking questions, some more tame than others.

"No comment," Birdie shouted, the two pushing their way past and down the stairs, towards her car parked a short ways away.

"Well, it's a little too early to celebrate, but do you want to go to Hop Kee and grab something to eat before your meeting with Remy's teacher?" Jayne asked, climbing into the passenger seat.

Birdie sighed. "Well, it's a little out of tradition, but I could use the aid."

A parent/teacher conference. She would need all the help she could get.

º º º

Birdie took a deep breath as she stood in front of Remy's classroom, trying to compose herself before she had to step inside and deal with whatever awful things that woman was about to say about her son. Remy was a good boy, no matter what, if he did something wrong, that was her fault.

Before she opened the door, her phone buzzed. She cursed softly as she searched for it in her purse, frowning slightly as the caller ID for her landline showed. "Hello?"

"Hey, just wanted to check in, is everything okay?" Tony asked from the other end, filling her with relief as she heard Remy talking to BUDDY in the background.

"I'm about to go in, thank you again for watching over him, Stacey has the flu," she breathed, one hand already on the door knob.

"You know..." Tony began quickly, just before she hung up, "I can just watch over the kid, you don't need to hire Stacey."

She sighed to herself, shaking her head. "I can't ask that of you, Tony, I don't want to be a burden to you."

"Wait, no, you're not a burden—" he began, but she was already hanging up, feeling a pang of shame at the thought of taking his offer; she could take care of her son, she didn't need him swooping in to save her.

Brushing back her hair and taking a steadying breath, she opened the door and stepped inside, immediately being greeted by a sweet looking woman who was typing away on her computer. With a smile, she walked towards her, sticking out her hand and thanking her for coming, motioning for her to sit in the adult sized chair that she must have taken from the teacher lounge.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here and I apologize for the awful timing, I just saw you were in court today, that must have been very stressful," Ms. Kimberly said, sighing as she tried to show her sympathy, which Birdie appreciated.

"Yeah, it was on my mind," she agreed, trying to laugh, "But I appreciate your understanding and everything went well. Can-can I ask why you want to talk about Remy?"

"Yes," the woman said slowly, nodding and standing, grabbing a paper from her desk before moving back to sit, handing it over to Birdie, "Remy's grades are slipping. Now, he's done a good job in catching up on all his missing work, but he's just not grasping the concepts he needs to be able to keep up with the class. More than that, he seems to be more distracted than usual. He even stood up one day to just stare out the window. Now, I can't play favorites and I'm in no position to tell you what to do or force him to take anything accommodations you or him don't want, but...I want to suggest him getting a tutor."

Birdie groaned as everything began to click, rubbing her forehead. "That won't be an easy conversation, he's going to feel so stupid."

"But he's not stupid," Ms. Kimberly pressed, "I'm sure you know, getting a tutor does not mean he's stupid, it just means he needs some extra help. If anything, he'll just be getting his homework finished faster, I don't see any problem with that."

"Neither do I, but my ex-husband got it into his head that he's stupid, so him taking a tutor will crush him," Birdie explained, voice raising an octave. She groaned, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I know that's none of your business, but is there any other way we can sort this out without him needing accommodations or finding a tutor?"

Ms. Kimberly pursed her lips. "I mean...would you be able to help him with his homework every night, go through it, and explain everything?"

Birdie shook her head. "No. No, I can't." Admitting that was possibly one of the hardest things she'd had to do in a very long time.

"Do you know anyone else that could?" the woman tried, tilting her head.

Her thoughts immediately flashed to Tony; a genius, he would have no trouble helping Remy with his homework, though he might overcomplicate concepts meant for an eleven-year-old. But she couldn't ask that of him—wouldn't ask that of him—he had his own life and his own work, it wasn't right of her to ask him to drop everything to help her son.

"I'll try to figure something out," she sighed, "Is this all you wanted to talk about?"

Ms. Kimberly pursed her lips, seeming as if she were deciding whether or not to bring up another topic. "You have enough to deal with as is, I'll leave this be. It's not an immediate concern having to do with his education."

"What is it?" Birdie pressed, "If you want to bring it up, I want to know."

The woman sighed for a moment before finally asking, "Has Remy been in contact with his father recently? Your ex-husband, I mean."

"No," she replied, "Why?"

"Just wondering," she said, "At the beginning of the year, I was told by his previous teacher not to be alarmed during our creative writing class if Remy writes about a man named Mark, which he had been and I wasn't. But now he's not."

She didn't know what to do with that information, so she just stored it away for another date. "Well, thank you. I will try to find him a tutor or figure something out. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention."

"I hope I didn't cause more harm than good," Ms. Kimberly said, walking her to the door, "I just want to help Remy."

Birdie gave her a small smile. "You and me both."

º º º

"A tutor?"

Birdie nodded as she and Tony stood in the kitchen. She was cradling a glass of wine that she hadn't touched and he was holding onto his half empty one, debating on whether to just drink hers since it was clear she wouldn't.

"Today has been difficult," she sighed, staring at the liquid like it would give her all the answers she needed, "And I have to be at the courthouse first thing tomorrow, then I have to figure out how to proceed depending on how that ends up, and I have to find Remy a tutor that won't make him feel stupid. And don't even get me started on getting him to agree."

Tony ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking for a moment. "Here," he said, downing his glass, then taking hers, "Let's do this. You worry about the case that you've already won, let's be real, and I will find Remy a tutor."

She frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to—"

"You're not burdening me with anything," he interrupted, giving her a pointed, yet casual look, "Trust me, it's the least I can do. I'll break it to him and everything."

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because that's going to be a difficult argument to win."

He licked his lips. "Well, I'm not good with dealing with crying children, but I can argue with them. I've got it."

"Can," she began, wishing she didn't have to ask him at all, "Can you find someone who won't make him feel stupid? Please."

He winked. "I know just the person. Don't worry, Birdie, I've got it all under control."

She sighed. If only she could say the same for herself.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hmm...I wonder who the tutor is going to be...

Also, I'm sorry I really skimmed through Birdie actually doing her job, I wanted to actually show her doing it, but my basic knowledge of a defense attorney stems from what I see in Law & Order: SVU and while I could do my research, her work doesn't matter so much as why she has this job instead of being a nurse, so who knows, I might do more research, but this particular scene was, for the most part, irrelevant.

I just kind of realized that Tony is sort of taking on the parental role despite all of them basically having forgotten that he doesn't know if he's the dad or not, though it is always in their minds, but we've reached the point where Tony is like "well, I mean, I'm attached to this tiny child might as well" and I don't know, am I writing him okay? I don't know.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!