First Health Montgomery Memorial Hospital:
Piper was recovering slowly and was getting used to having only one lung. Since she was stuck in the hospital recovering. She watched some cheerleading exercises the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders went through during their hiring process.

Her dream was still to become a cheerleader. It’s all she has ever wanted to be, thanks to the state she lived in. Her dream would never become real. She paused the video she was watching and looked toward the new arrangement delivered that morning. It had a pink teddy bear wearing a cheerleader outfit, surrounded by a bunch of mums the same color as her school colors.

The card had read from a school friend, which she knew she didn’t have many of. Her hospital room had flowers, bears, and balloons from people who knew her. Piper opens a new tab on her laptop and Googles Montana law as it relates to her.

She learns she can change the gender marker on her state-issued ID to female. But changing it to female on her birth certificate in the state she lives in was different. Piper hopes that if her gender identity is changed on her ID card, she can enter and use facilities designated for women.

However, if she ever wanted to get a passport. her passport would say male because the State Department went by the designation on her birth certificate. The same would apply if she ever decided to get married.

Piper thinks about Gloria's offer of getting the lawyers from the company she worked for to force the state to change her sex on her birth certificate. She still wonders why someone wanted to kill her. She has never done anything mean to anyone. If nothing else, she has been nice to them and accepted what they said or did to her—sometimes trying to avoid them altogether.

Piper goes back to watching the tryout to become a Dallas Cheerleader. While watching the video, she knows it will be difficult and hopes she can pass the selection. She watches until the end and researches how much cheerleaders get paid, as well as what other NFL and NBA teams employ cheerleaders.

Down in the hospital parking lot:
Mike watches the video from Piper’s hospital room and notices Piper wasn’t a boy, but a girl. Now things were starting to fall into focus. Why Piper never got undressed in front of other males in the locker room and why Piper always seemed to wear oversized clothing.

An evil smile appears on his face. Maybe he could use this to his advantage, instead of killing Piper. He could humiliate her and the city council. He sets up a fake account and sends information and some of the photos he was getting from Piper’s hospital room to several newspapers and news agencies.

This was ten times better than trying to kill her. Once he stirred the pot, he might go ahead and kill her anyway, but first he was going to have some fun, humiliating her and the city council. Maybe he’ll include information about council member Everett’s daughter being a prostitute to pay off her drug addiction. He thinks twice about that and decides to save it to get out of trouble. He looks up council member Everett and discovers he has a second daughter he's very proud of. She was an honor roll student and well respected by her peers. Maybe he could kidnap her and introduce her into the same profession as her older sister.

After anonymously sending information about Piper to different news agencies, he continues to watch and listen to nurses as they enter Piper’s hospital room. He records everything, so he can use it to humiliate her and the city council.

Neptune’s Bar:
Thea sashays over to the table carrying a tray of drinks three men ordered. She knew these men were dangerous and you didn’t cross them.
“Here you guys go. One imported beer for you, Mr. Ainscow. One Dale’s special for you, Mr. Hackford. And one draft beer for you, Mr. Parham.” As Thea sets the draft beer in front of Mr. Parham.

“Thanks, Thea. If you ever get tired of serving drinks here, I’ll hire you.” Mr. Parham slaps Thea on her plump ass.

“Thanks for the offer, sir.” Thea didn’t react to Jeremy slapping her ass. She knew better to complain to the manager about these men.

She turned and walked back towards the counter to pick up more drinks. She knew all the men in the bar paid attention to her as she swayed her hips.

“Man, I would tap that ass any time. I would love to hear her moan as I teach her some new positions.” Horace wanted to see what Thea was like with a man between her legs.

“So, how is the recruit working out, Jeremy?” Charley looked at Jeremy for an answer. He knew Jeremy was grooming a teenage boy named Mike for the cause.

“Ambitious, and ruthless. Jeremy went after a kid in his high school who got most of his friends suspended.”

“Did he kill that kid?” Charley had a stern look on his face.

“No, the kid survived and is in the hospital right now. I told Mike that if he didn’t finish the job, he was next.” Jeremy wouldn’t allow losers to work for him.

“Don’t kill him, Jeremy. I know his father, and he is a member of our group. You can give him a good beat down, but don’t kill him.” Horace wanted to keep Mike’s father, David, happy.

The man had connections and could get them military hardware. What they planned would cause a big uproar and a change in the government.

“Alright, I won’t kill him, but I’ll make sure he gets a beatdown he’ll never forget.” Jeremy didn’t like being told what to do with his people, but he knew Horace and Charley carried some heavy weight in their town.

City Courthouse, Judge Reardon’s Office:
Judge Reardon looks at Gloria and Marshal Givens. Officer Sterling sat next to Gloria as they watched as the Judge read the petition to adopt Piper Welch and move her to Montana. He knew it was unusual for adoption to take place like this, with the child still in the hospital and without a local social worker overseeing this matter.

However, after what happened to Ms. Welch, it was probably best he handle this matter privately. After looking through the paperwork, he turns his attention to the Givens.

“Well, everything seems to be in order, and I have gotten several good reviews from your supervisors, Mr. and Mrs. Givens. And with Officer Sterling informing me about how good parents you two will make.” Judge Reardon looks towards Officer Sterling when he says that.

Officer Sterling smiles at the judge. He has always been her mentor and helped her whenever she needed it.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t approve this adoption and allow you to move Ms. Welch back to your home state.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. This means a lot to me and my husband and Piper.” Gloria had spoken, after looking towards her husband for a second.

“As for her gender problem, I’ll try to force through a recommended change for her. If everything I have read in her medical records is right, she shouldn’t have to be listed as male on her birth certificate.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Officer Sterling hopes Judge Reardon can do it.