Meanwhile Jon was trying to think of ways to solve the problem of turning back into a boy when pregnant. And she had no idea. Finally, the best she could come up with was to wish that she'd change back to a boy, but she wouldn't stay that way.
When he got home she put her new one year old baby in an old crib--which hadn't actually existed until she wished it up. She was certainly producing enough milk to feed the baby, but apparently she was supposed to feed the baby solid food at this point. And change diapers. Jon freely made wishes to solve these problems and then went to sleep.
The alarm clock went off just before midnight. Jon--sleeping on her back because of her triplet pregnancy--woke up and turned off the alarm, and stared at the clock until midnight passed and it was the next day. The transformation back to male was fast, even though Jon still felt the babies in his belly. He thought "I'm going to tell people about Sarah" and the transformation started, then wished himself into a deep sleep.
The trial was a while later, but sooner than Jon had expected. Jon had to take the witness stand (so to speak, since with her advanced pregnancy she was allowed to sit) and testify.
"So what did the defendant, Sarah McMillan, do to you?"
"She used magic to make me pregnant, twice."
The judge showed a lack of curiosity about the existence of magic, thanks to Jon's wish, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to ask for details. "How did you know it was magic?"
"She... Um." Jon didn't feel like telling the judge and Sarah about the stone. "It was a magic item to which I'd used before."
"What specifically was it, Ms. Merlin?"
"I'd rather not say. Your honor, I know that I'm required by the court to testify, but..." She reached into her pocket and touched the stone. "I wish I didn't need to testify and I wish nobody remembers I made these wishes."
Jon was suddenly back in the audience and the judge was reading the sentence. "The police report indicates that the defendant said 'that was just magic' at the time of the arrest. The medical reports indicate that the victim had suddenly turned female and had a child with another three on the way, which genetic testing shows as all having Sarah McMillan as the father, which is impossible unless magic was involved. The crime itself is obviously a variety of assault, but brings up unusual questions. I find the defendant Sarah McMillan guilty as a juvenile of assault and battery. Because of her lack of a criminal record, the sentence will be probation, and will be carried out...."
Sarah smiled a little bit, but bit her lip. She knew, after all, that it could have been a lot worse. A judge could have easily called it sexual assault or treated her as an adult. Or put her in jail.
"Wishing something on the judge is a no-no," said Karyn later.
"Yeah," replied Jon, "but I didn't wish all that much, and even making Sarah forget the stone was against the law. It's not as if you can legally wipe someone's mind in self-defense. Now, I wonder if we should ask Sarah for child support...."
