Victoria was just finishing up her tea when the gates began to rattle and clank, she held her breath praying it was anyone other than Crawley or McGuinty.
Secretly in the back of her mind she prayed it was Danny or Demi.... but common sense told her they weren't coming.
She was desperately lonely and wanted someone to reassure her that everything was going to be alright - the first day of court had been horrible.
Before McGuinty had the chance to tell her to get up and wait in the back of the cell, she was already waiting.
"Visitor to see you" McGuinty called.
Victoria craned her neck to see who was there and smiled trying really hard to mask her disappointment -it wasn't that she didn't want to see Stacy, or that she didn't want her company, because she did. But she had still secretly been holding onto the hope it would be Danny, Amanda or Demi at least.
She just wanted to go home, back to her old life, her own bed but most of all she wanted to go home and cuddle Amanda and tell her that everything was alright and pick up Emily and never let her go.... but who was she kidding, that wasn't going to happen.
Victoria had a lot of time to think in that dingy cell, and she knew that things looked really bad and they weren't going to improve. There was no light at the end of the tunnel.
The next day was going to be a killer, Danny would be taking the stand and she knew what he was going to be talking about. Danny would be forced to tell some things that she had hoped would never be spoken about again, private shameful things, that would make her look worse.
As Stacey entered her cell Victoria looked down at her feet and pulled her long sleeved shirt over her hands shamefully.
As the door shut heavily behind Stacey she winked at Victoria and sat down. Pushing the discarded dinner plate aside so that she could put her black leather brief case down on the table, she purposefully clicked open the gold clasps and retrieved some papers. Glancing back at Victoria she smiled broadly.
"You will never guess what I have here?"
"Release forms to let me out of this god awful place?"
Stacy frowned, "No, I'm your lawyer, not a miracle worker, but it is something really good, something that you won't want to miss out on!"
"First class tickets to the ball with prince charming?"
"Do I look like your frigging fairy god mother," teased Stacy.
"I don't know, tell me," begged Victoria moving closer to get a look at the papers she was now holding up in the air waving around playfully.
"Well it turns out that contrary to popular belief Smithies isn't such an old dragon after all. I sent her an email requesting some visitation time for you and.....
"Oh my god, please tell me that you aren't having me on, please tell me I can go see my baby," said Victoria beginning to weep.
"Yes, she granted you visitation, she signed off on it and before I come in here to see you, I had McGuinty sign off on it too. Its official, tomorrow after court you are going to see Emily!"
Victoria sunk down to her knees crying and laughing at the same time, "Thank you god, thank you, thank you."
"I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you....but I was so excited for you I couldn't wait!"
Victoria got up from the ground and rushed over to Stacy and hugged her, "how can I ever thank you enough!"
As Stacy patted Victoria's back she whispered, "You can keep positive and fight back!"
"I will Stacy, I promise!"
"Ok, so is there anything you can think of that will help us out tomorrow?" asked Stacey taking a step back.
Victoria shook her head, "honesty is important in our house, why not just be direct and ask Danny what you want to know?"
"That is a fair point, thank you Victoria."
"You know Stacy if you had have asked me a month ago who had my back, I would have told you, without hesitation it was my husband and my best friend."
Taking hold of Stacey's hand Victoria took a deep breath. " But here in my darkest hour the people I love most have deserted me, then there is you, a stranger, you don't know me, or owe me anything, but you are sticking up for me, fighting with me, believing in me. I just hope, with all of my heart that I am the person that you think I am!"
"Oh you are good enough Victoria, even when you think nobody sees you, that is why I'm here on your side fighting for you," Stacy stood up and signalled for McGuinty, and as he let Stacy out Victoria curled her hands around the bars of the door and whispered, "Thank you Stacy Dylan."
"I will see you tomorrow," said Stacy over her shoulder as she was escorted out of the room.
After Stacy had left, Victoria turned out her small light and lay in bed watching the sky through the vent.
There was one big bright star in a blanket of darkness twinkling. Victoria sighed, it had to be her Nan watching out for her from heaven.
Nan couldn't be there for her so she had sent her Stacy, a guardian angel. It was a sign that no matter what, Nan was watching out for her and she would always send good people into her life when she needed them most.
Victoria closed her eyes her Nan was watching out for her. It didn't matter what happened - she was going to be alright.