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"All right then" Judge DeSalvo glances at each of us "This is family court, Counselors In fas like these, I tend to personally relax the rules of evidence because I don't want a contentious hearing I'm able to filter out what is ad truly objectionable, I'll listen to the objection, but I would prefer that we get through this hearing quickly, without worrying about form" He looks directly at me "I want this to be as painless as possible for everyone involved"

We move into the courtroom--one that's s all the sa the way As we cross through the doorway, she stops dead She glances at the vast paneled walls, the rows of chairs, the i bench "Campbell," she whispers, "I won't have to stand up there and talk, right?"

The fact is, the judge will most likely want to hear what she has to say Even if Julia comes out in support of her petition, even if Brian says he will help Anna, Judge DeSalvo ht now is only going to get her all worked up--and that's not any way to start a hearing

I think about the conversation in the car, when Anna called me a liar There are two reasons to not tell the truth--because lying will get you what you want, and because lying will keep so hurt It's for both of these reasons that I give Anna this answer "Well," I say, "I doubt it"

"Judge," I begin, "I know it's not traditional practice, but there's so witnesses"

Judge DeSalvo sighs "Isn't this sort of standing on ceremony exactly what I asked you not to do?"

"Your Honor, I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important"

"Make it quick," the judge says

I stand up and approach the bench "Your Honor, all of Anna Fitzgerald's life she has been ood, not her own No one doubts Sara Fitzgerald's love for all her children, or the decisions she's ed Kate's life But today we have to doubt the decisions she's made for this child"

I turn, and see Julia watching nht rehters in Worcester, Massachusetts, ere killed in a blaze started by a homeless wo, but she never called 911 because she thought she ht, and yet the State couldn't hold this woman responsible, because in Aic--you are not responsible for soated to help anyone in distress Not if you're the one who started the fire, not if you're a passerby to a car wreck, not if you're a perfectly matched donor"

I look at Julia again "We're here today because there's a difference in our systeal and what's moral Sometimes it's easy to tell them apart But every now and then, especially when they rub up against each other, right soht" I walk back to my seat, and stand in front of it "We're here today," I finish, "so that this Court can help us all see a little more clearly"

My first witness is opposing counsel I watch Sara walk to the stand unsteadily, a sailor getting her sea legs again She et herself into the seat and be sworn in without ever breaking her gaze away from Anna

"Judge, I'd like pererald as a hostile witness"

The judge frowns "Mr Alexander, I truly would hope that both you and Mrs Fitzgerald can stand to be civilized, here"

"Understood, Your Honor" I walk toward Sara "Can you state your name?"

She lifts her chin a fraction "Sara Crofton Fitzgerald"

"You are the erald?"

"Yes And also of Kate and Jesse"

"Isn't it true that your daughter Kate was diagnosed with acute proe two?"

"That's right"

"At that time did you and your husband decide to conceive a child ould be genetically prograan donor for Kate, so that she could be cured?"

Sara's face hardens "Not the words I would choose, but that was the story behind Anna's conception, yes We were planning to use Anna's umbilical cord blood for a transplant"

"Why didn't you try to find an unrelated donor?"

"It's erous The risk of her with someone asn't related to Kate"

"So how old was Anna when she first donated an organ or tissue to her sister?"

"Kate had the transplant a month after Anna was born"

I shake my head "I didn't ask when Kate received it; I asked when Anna donated it The cord blood was taken froht?"

"Yes," Sara says, "but Anna wasn't even aware of it"

"How old was Anna the next time she donated some body part to Kate?"

Sara winces, just as I have expected "She was five when she gave donor lymphocytes"

"What does that involve?"

"Drawing blood from the crooks of her arms"

"Did Anna agree to let you put a needle in her arm?"

"She was five years old," Sara answers

"Did you ask her if you could put a needle in her arm?"

"I asked her to help her sister"

"Isn't it true that soet the needle in her arm?"

Sara looks at Anna, closes her eyes "Yes"

"Do you call that voluntary participation, Mrs Fitzgerald?" Froe DeSalvo's brows draw together "The first time you took lymphocytes from Anna, were there any side effects?"

"She had so Some tenderness"

"How long was it before you took blood again?"

"A month"

"Did she have to be held down that time, too?"

"Yes, but--"

"What were her side effects then?"

"The same" Sara shakes her head "You don't understand It wasn't like I didn't see as happening to Anna, every time she underwent a procedure It doesn't matter which of your children you see in that situation--every single time, it breaks you apart"

"And yet, Mrs Fitzgerald, you et past that sentiment," I say, "because you took blood from Anna a third time"

"It took that long to get all the lymphocytes," Sara says "It's not an exact procedure"

"How old was Anna the next tio ?"

"When Kate was nine she got a raging infection and--"

"Again, that's not what I asked I want to knohat happened to Anna when she was six"

"She donated granulocytes to fight Kate's infection It's a process a lot like a lymphocyte donation"

"Another needle stick?"

"That's right"

"Did you ask her if she illing to donate the granulocytes?"

Sara doesn't answer "Mrs Fitzgerald," the judge prompts

She turns toward her daughter, pleading "Anna, you knoe never did any of these things to hurt you It hurt all of us If you got the bruises on the outside, then we got them on the inside"

"Mrs Fitzgerald," I step between her and Anna "Did you ask her?"

"Please don't do this," Sara says "We all know the history I'll stipulate to whatever it is you're trying to do in the process of crucifying et this part over with"

"Because it's hard to hear it hashed out again, isn't it?" I know I' a fine line, but behind me there is Anna, and I want her to know that soo the distance for her "Added up like this, it doesn't seem quite so innocuous, does it?"

"Mr Alexander, what is the point of this?" Judge DeSalvo says "I aone"

"Because we have Kate's medical history, Your Honor, not Anna's"

Judge DeSalvo looks between us "Be brief, Counselor"

I turn to Sara "Bone marrow,