icecoldfrost | The Offices of Cabot & Associates, Early Thursday Evening. (Reply)

To the outward eye, Emma looked completely calm as she stepped into the lobby of Cabot & Associates. To anyone who knew her well, the way her fingers curled around the papers she carried telegraphed loudly how tense - and afraid angry - she really was.

Not that she had any reason to be tense here. She had copies of all Winston's documents. Supposedly. Emma had managed to schedule an emergency meeting with Miss Cabot herself. If anyone could get her out of this mess, it would be a former ADA who was living on a multidimensional nexus.

ADA Alex Cabot	After Emma's phone call, Alex had gotten to her office as quickly as possible. The girl had sounded composed, but Alex had come to expect that, in dealing with domestic and family issues. She didn't have many details, yet, but the few she did ... weren't all that rosy. "Emma?" she asked, offering a hand to the blonde who entered her office. "I'm Alex Cabot. Come in, please."
Emma Grace Frost	"I appreciate you taking the time to see me on such short notice, Miss Cabot," Emma replied, shifting her papers so that she could shake the other woman's hand. "For once, I seem to be in a bind that I can't just use my powers to end." Family. Genetics were a bitch sometimes, and even if she mind-wiped Winston, Adrienne would find a way to start this all over again.
Alex	"It's no trouble at all," Alex said firmly. "We all have our specialties. The law can be a very effective tool, in the right hands." And that tool could be anything from a sledgehammer to a scalpel, depending on what was needed. She ushered the girl into her office. "I have coffee, or tea if you'd prefer," she said. "And I'm going to need you to start at the beginning. With as much detail as you can give me." Family matters were usually messy, and painful. But the more Alex knew, the better prepared she'd be.
Emma	"The whole story?" Emma asked, mouth twisting in a slightly bitter smile. "For that, I'll need coffee please. Black." "The basic outline is that the Frost family is money. Very very Old Money, and a lot of it. Frost House is just outside of Boston, and my father, Winston, runs Frost Technologies. Hazel is Old Money in her own right." "There were four of us. Adrienne, the eldest. Christian, me, and Cordelia. I ran away when I was barely fifteen, after Winston destroyed Christian's boyfriend, and then sent him to the Snow Valley Pavilion for the Mentally Disturbed." Emma's fingers clenched slightly. "Or as the family politely calls it, 'the Clinic.'" "My brother was gay, not insane. Suicidal, because of what Winston did to him. Depressed. And getting into drugs to try and escape that house. But he was not insane. At the same time, my powers had manifested, and I was having a harder and harder time covering it up."
Alex	Alex was taking notes on a yellow legal pad, nodding along as Emma talked. "Was your brother undergoing so-called reparative therapy?" she asked, without looking up. "The intention being to 'cure' his sexuality? Or was he sent to the Clinic as a way of keeping him out of the public eye and where he couldn't be an embarrassment?" The Cabots were Old Money, themselves. Certain things, she understood. "Are your powers genetic, in that your brother, or other family members, also have similar abilities?" she continued. "And at your leisure, might you pass me a dollar bill? Any denomination. This isn't a formal retainer, but once money changes hands, privilege applies, and I'm legally empowered to call myself your lawyer."
Emma	"My gift is telepathy," she clarified, in case Jack had never told her, "- works just fine on both my parents, and worked on Christian. It worked in fits and starts on Cordelia, last I saw her, but it doesn't work on Adrienne at all. According to Miss Kerrigan, powers like mine are often genetic." "And it was the second option," she said sourly, digging in her purse to pass over a fifty, since that as the first one that came to her hand. "Winston told me he was going to send Christian to rehab, but he 'changed his mind.' All any of us wanted - well, what Christian and I wanted, was to make him proud without letting him run our lives. He wasn't the warmest or most loving person," especially when he was angry, "-but he was our father." And all little girls wanted to be Daddy's Princess. "At first, right after Christian was carted off, I was named the heir, much to Adrienne's displeasure. I didn't want it, from that point on, I hated Winston, but it was mine." "Right up until Winston somehow found out I was having crippling migraines and that I was hearing voices. I still don't know how he knew about the voices. I never told anyone but Christian. So when I 'overheard' him signing the papers that would send me to the same place that ultimately killed my brother, I took all the money in the house I could get my hands on and ran." "I was in New York almost two years before a friend bullied me into applying to Fandom. I'm eighteen now, so I thought I was free and clear, but he showed up here with paperwork that claims he has conservatorship over me because I'm insane. I'm sure Doctor Upjohn was happy to sign them, given my family's generous patronage."
Alex	Alex's pen was flying faster, now, getting down as many names and times as possible. She only looked up in order to take Emma's money, and for that, she scrawled a quick receipt, which she tore from her pad and handed back. "Just to be sure I'm clear on this," Alex said. "You have never met with this Dr. Upjohn, or if you have, not since before you left home? That is to say, you haven't been formally evaluated by him, in order to have this declaration of your sanity made? Does your father have power of attorney? What is it he's seeking to do? And why are you the heir if Adrienne is his eldest -- is she still in the picture?" Several of her scribbles were notes to herself, for later. Things such as "call Huang" and "injunction" and "LIZ." Elizabeth Donnelly had friends in even higher places than Alex did -- which was hard to manage -- and even better, Liz owed her a favor. Not that Liz wouldn't call in a few of her own, to help a child in need. Now, who did Alex know in family court? A few more names were added to the margins as she waited for Emma's response.
Emma	"I haven't seen Dr. Upjohn since my mother had her mental breakdown, and the only thing he did was lie to us about the cause, and give her an entire bathroom worth of drugs." Emma didn't have much respect for the good doctor, no. "He's who my father goes to to clean up family medical problems. The last time he examined me, it was for strep when I was in seventh grade." "Whatever he signed gave Winston power of attorney, everything. He's trying to withdraw me from the school, for starters." "But I was heir because Winston has been playing all four of us off each other since we were little. He wanted control over where Frost Technologies was going. And Adrienne is very much in the picture." She made a face. "She found out where I was last fall, and has been tormenting me and harassing my friends during the family weekends. I wouldn't be shocked if she told Winston where I was in an effort to get me out of the way for good."
Alex	"Okay," Alex said. She had, at least, enough to start with. "What we're going to do is find the most uptight, rules-stickler and also kid-friendly family court judge I can wrangle at short notice. You sign an affadavit declaring that Dr. Upjohn hasn't examined you formally, and we contest the power of attorney. We include evidence of your brother's institutionalization; it shows a pattern. With the right judge, an injunction against your withdrawal is all but a lock." And if anyone knew how to reach the right family court judge, Liz would. "The judge may want to meet with you personally, or may assign a guardian ad litem -- an attorney who speaks for you, and your best interests only." Alex was Emma's attorney, but there was a subtle distinction between speaking for what your client requested, and representing that client's best interests as seen from an impartial perspective. "The judge might also order a psych evaluation, performed by a court-ordered psychiatrist; I know a few I could refer it to. However, if that's not something you are comfortable submitting to, I need to know now so I can steer away from that, hard." Being willing to submit to one would be a point in their favor, especially if Huang found her to be competent; but if Emma was touchy about psychiatrists, which she might well be, Alex would find a way around it.
Emma	Emma visibly flinched at the idea of a shrink. "Is there someone here who isn't going to dismiss telepathy as a trick?" she asked, warily. "I am not a huge fan of humans who think they know what people are thinking." "One thing you should probably know..." she fiddled with the receipt, not wanting to admit to imperfection in her family, beyond Winston's inflexibility. "My father has more than a bit of a temper, and I've made him angry by lawyer-ing up. Don't be surprised if he tries to bully you."
Alex	Emma was reluctant; therefore, Alex would try to avoid it unless that caused undue messiness. "Most of the psychiatrists I know are from a world where it doesn't exist," she said, gently. "But Dr. Huang wouldn't assume it was a trick. He would find some rational explanation for it, like you being observant or good at body language." She hesitated, sensing the delicacy of what she needed to ask next. "I've known from vicious tempers in my time," she said. "You don't go into this line of work and not expect it. If he wants to have a dick-waving contest, he's going to be sorely disappointed with the results." None of which was the question she needed to ask. "Are you concerned about possible repercussions to you?"
Emma	"The repercussions I'm most worried about right now is if I get removed from the island," she replied bluntly. "So long as I'm not at Frost House, I'm as safe as I can get." "Even if your Dr. Huang convinced him I'm not crazy, he wouldn't care. I'm still the rebellious embarrassment, and it would be more incentive for him to pack me off to the Clinic if he can't get me under his control again. I'm more worried about my friends, and you, for agreeing to be my lawyer. Winston fights dirty."
Alex	"Dr. Huang wouldn't be there to convince your father of anything," Alex explained, shaking her head quickly. "I'm operating under the assumption that your father knows the diagnosis he paid that quack for is bullshit. It would be a trump card to play with the judge. Their expert is on your father's payroll; ours is an independent psychiatrist who works with the police. Their expert hasn't even seen you; ours has. It's yet another tool in our arsenal, but one I'm perfectly willing to skip if it makes you uncomfortable." Considering Emma's experiences, she could hardly blame the girl if that was the case. For the rest of it, she set her pen down and took a moment to compose an appropriate reply. "This is what I do," she said. "What I did, back in New York City. I prosecuted sex crimes and child abuse. I've made some powerful enemies, in my time. I've been on the bad side of celebrities, the FBI, and drug kingpins. I've been punched, sued, stalked, threatened, and shot. I don't respond to intimidation. If you're asking me to be careful, I'll watch my back. But don't worry on my behalf. This is what I do. Whatever consequences come with that, I accept."
Emma	"My discomfort is irrelevant," Emma replied. "I'm not going into this fight without every weapon I can get." "If the judge opts to assign a guardian, do I get to pick who? Does it have to be a lawyer?" If it needed to be someone with legal experience, she could always ask Jack, although he wouldn't be impartial when it came to her.
Alex	Right. She'd call Huang, and ask him to tread lightly. Not like Huang needed information on how to deal with delicate situations, or traumatized children, either. "It would be a special lawyer who works with the court," she explained. "Not a technical guardian in any sense. Just someone who met with you and gave their impartial opinion. The case may not progress to that point; you're eighteen, so it might be considered unnecessary." If Emma was sane, she could speak for herself. Huang could declare her competency, and that should be enough to drive a wedge. "I'll need whatever papers you have," Alex continued, "but I have enough to start on, unless there's anything else you think I should know." She let that hang in the air a few moments, in case there was more the girl needed to say. Either in regards to the case, or her own feelings about it. Alex was not herself a therapist, but she was, hopefully, less tone-deaf than she had been when Sam Cavanaugh had left her office and reached for a bottle of pills.
Emma	Emma willingly handed over her stack of papers. "I'm pretty sure everything is there," she said. "Or at least, everything he had while in Deadpool's office, that I had a chance to make photocopies. He has the originals." "Would you mind if I called Jack Priest and have him present during any meetings with Winston? Not because I need a legalese translator, but because he's good at knowing when I'm going to loose my temper, and will sit on me before I snap and decide it's easier to just rewrite Winston's memory."
Alex	Alex was going to mentally translate that into 'moral support.' "I wouldn't mind at all," she said easily. "You have my phone number. Should anything change, please don't hesitate to contact me." She managed a smile, over the tops of the papers. "We've got this," she said, hoping to sound reassuring. "And if you'll excuse me, I have some calls to make, myself."