Our girls (Marina)

Chapter 26

"Your honour, my client Christopher Jones has had ups and downs throughout his life. He was a young boy, like any other, when he suddenly found out that he was going to be a father. As you may understand, he did not know how to react. He was already in a difficult position battling his addictions...a child was not something he could handle. So he decided that the best thing for him and for that boy or girl who was on it's way, was to get away." the man stated making the couple roll their eyes, what about the following nine years? "However, now he has completely recovered and is completely a new man, a man who only wants to keep getting better to become a good father"

"Thank you, Mr. Raynolds" the Judge said towards the man as he nodded making the lawyer take a step back and sit again on the desk "Ms. Schulyer, you may proceed" he said causing Luisa to stand up taking a deep breath and smiling briefly before she began

"Your honour, as you are aware, the conditions in which these girls were found were deplorable..." the woman started being interrumpted almost immediately

"Objection, this has no relevance in the case" the man stated 

"I will allow it, continue Ms." the Judge said 

"The girls were and I quote malnourished and with clear signs of neglect. From there they went to multiple foster homes. The oldest was four and the youngest was barely a year old. Do you know how many times the gentleman present here tried to find out anything about his daughter? None. Not even once" she said turning to look at the man who had his eyes forward

The couple looked at him, trying to keep calm as their lawyer spoke 

"That barred all adoption opportunities, making these girls a complicated case. For CPS it was almost certain that these girls were not going to have a normal development, from social skills to mental development." she stated "However, these two women came into the picture. Luna attends school, presenting excellent grades, her communication skills improve every day, something that would not have been possible if it weren't for my clients. Emma presents the abilities of any six-year-old girl, not to mention her capacity for understanding and expression, again, something that a few years ago would have been unimaginable. My clients taught these girls about respect, education, but above all, the love that should exist in a home. They taught them about boundaries and about what is right and what is not, and all that progress, Your Honor, would be damaged if we take these girls out of the place that taught them that not everyone is here to hurt them... that they are not a lost case"

"Thank you, Ms. Schuyler" he said giving the woman a light nod "I now invite both parties to share their piece on the situation" 

Chris was the first one to stand up next to his lawyer before starting to speak 

"I remember the first time I met Luna's mother" he started, his voice clearly trembling "I met her and I was sure she was the woman of my life... I was done. She accepted me with all of my flaws and problems, and most importantly she accepted me with my past. I had struggled with addiction since I was a kid... but I wanted to get better I just didn't know how to" he said as he tried to control his feelings that were clearly overtaking him "Drugs took a tool of myself, I was angry, mad... and when she told me I was going to be a dad my whole world colapsed. How was I going to look after a child if I couldn't look after myself? so I left. I fell into a dark hole I couldn't get out of, but I wanted to get out... I needed to get out so I went to rehab" he said sniffling his tears back "I took care of myself and now I'm ready to be the father those girls deserve. I wasn't there for a long time, I missed a lot. I made a mistake and wasn't able to be Luna's father but now I'm here and I want the chance to be able to meet my daughter and Emma, who I assure you I will love as if she was my own... I just need you to let me" 

Judge Pearson nodded as he turned to the side redirecting her gaze towards Maya who was the one who stood up to represent her family. She had been thinking about what to say but at this very moment she understood that no matter how much she thought about it, it was better to let her heart speak 

"Over the past year and a half, there are many things we learnt from finally opening our family. At first we didn't know what we were doing... everything was a challege. We were so scared of doing something wrong... until we understood these girls didn't need perfect, they needed real, and loving, and safe" she said smiling at her wife who smiled at her back "Luna had a massive shell around her heart, she flinched at everyone who came near her or her sister, and woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Everyone represented danger, she was terrified of making a mistake but mostly she was terrified of letting anyone in. Even so, after a while, little by little she was able to start letting us understand her, and her story. Revealing the kindest, most loving kid in the world. On her part, Emma although as more open, seemed to be afraid of everyone... the only figure that represented protection for her was her sister" she said remembering the first weeks with the kids "Every little progress felt like a major triumph and every little step back would make us feel defeated" she said feeling how her tears fell down her cheeks, not being able to stop them "We knew it was a foster placement, but once you know them it is impossible to not love them and I'm afraid those little girls had made their way into our hearts and are not going to get out of there"

"Your Honour, my wife and I may not have been there at the girls' first years" Carina said taking over, realizing Maya wasn't able to keep going "We don't know what their first words were or how old were they when they took their first steps but we intend to be there for the next years. Birthdays, holidays, school events and everything that has yet to come, because I can't even imagine my life without them, because five and eight years were enough, and because we are their mothers and there is nothing that could change that"

The room fell silent aside for the women's sniffles and Chris lawyer that whispered something in his ear 

"We are going to take a ten-minute recess and reconvene after" the Judge said before standing up. These were going to be a long ten minutes 

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"After hearing both parties and looking over the character references I've come to a decision I believe is fair to both sides" he said making Maya take a breath feeling like the air just wasn't getting to her lungs

"I see it fit that Carina DeLuca-Bishop and Maya DeLuca-Bishop take full custody over Emma Taylor Davis making her adoption process open to proceed" he said and both, Carina and Maya, felt a weight being lifted from their shoulders. However, that weight came crushing down as they heard the following words "In regards to Luna Jones Davis, I have decided to asign full custody to Christopher Jones leaving visitation rights up to discussion between the two parties. Court is adjourned"