Forgotten Bliss [BoyxBoy]

Forgotten Bliss ~ Chapter 18

"They're his grandparents. His blood. All I am is-"

"His father." I was shocked at her words. "Yes, Kevin. You're as much his dad as Tommy was. Maybe not in blood but that boy sees you as his other dad."

"I won't possibly win this. They're his biological grandparents." I fell back onto the sofa. "I give up. There's no way this is going to work."

"How can you say that? Be optimistic for once in your life." Ash let out an exasperated breath. "Listen, I'll call Chad. He has a buddy that's a lawyer that deals with custody battles all the time."

"I don't want to take Ashton from his grandparents. I just don't want them to make as if Tommy's and my relationship was nothing." I admitted.

"Oh, that's good. They're homophobes, so that should work in your favour." Ash had this glint in her eyes.

"Mr. Jacobs has always accepted Tommy." I said in defence. "I don't know about playing that card. It might backfire."

"Don't you worry, everything will work out." She held her phone up and walked out leaving me to stare after her.

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"Okay so let's see." Chad's lawyer buddy said spreading out a few pages on the desk in front of him. "You and Thomas Jacobs were married nearly a year ago and a few months later you legally adopted Kevin?"

"Yes." I looked to Ash and she gave me a thumbs up.

"Mr. Jacobs also specified in his Will that in the event of his death, he'd like Ashton to remain with you." I nodded. "Okay, so your case is looking pretty good. There's just one little problem."

"His grandparents have a biological relation to him." I finished for him.

"Well, yes." Tony- the lawyer- put the tips of his fingers together. "Luck is on your side though because the final decision is all up to the judge. Biology doesn't really matter. What's important is the kid's situation and how this works for him."

"So I have a chance?"

"Yes, absolutely." He pulled out a notepad and a pen. "Tell me everything about your relationship with Ashton, Mr. Jacobs and why you want to have custody of him. Some details about Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs would help too."

"Okay, so yea, where to start?" I started from the beginning. How Tommy and I first got together and our plans for the future. Our breakup.

"So the two of you broke up and were apart for seven years?"

"Yes. Tommy told me that his mom had had a heart attack and it turned out that the fact that her son was in a homosexual relationship was too much stress for her."

"Okay...and when did you find out about Ashton?"

"I found out about him when he came into the hospital for a scrape on his knee. I found out later that he was Tommy's son." I explained. "I thought Tommy had cheated because of the time period, us breaking up seven years prior and Tommy having a six, nearly seven year old son."

"But he didn't cheat?"

"No. He planned to stay with Diane- Ashton's mother- but she passed away a few weeks after Ashton was born."

"Mr. Jacobs wasn't gay?"

I furrowed my brows. "I don't see how that is important."

"You can bet his parents will bring up his sexuality, we have to be prepared." I sighed.

"No, he isn't- wasn't gay. He always said that he was uh, Kevin sexual." My cheeks flamed at my confession and I heard Ash snicker in the corner.

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"How's your life with Ashton at home?" The Jacobs' lawyer walked past the podium and waited for me to answer.

"We got along from the moment we met so there was never any animosity between us. Ashton's a sweet kid and pretty great to be around. I make pancakes for breakfast sometimes and we relax on the sofa in our pjs and drink hot chocolate. Sometimes he kicks my butt in video games, but that's okay."

"Okay." She pretended to think for a moment. "Do you ever pick him up from school? How's that going?"

"I pick him up when I can. If I worked night shift, I sleep for a bit then pick him up. And of course when I'm not working. If I'm not available, Chad or Ash takes care of him till I get home."

"Does your job affect your living arrangements?" This was one of the questions I was dreading.

"I'll admit that it was tough at first but I've managed to arrange my schedule in a way that I'm there to put him to bed most nights. If I'm on call, I make sure that Ashley knows and since she works from home, she's always available."

"Would you say that you rely on her?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Well yes." There was a collective intake of breaths in the court room. I looked to see Tony face palming and Ash grimacing.

"Yes?"

"Yes. I'm a single parent. No one said I had to go it alone. As a doctor, my job isn't easy if I can get a little extra help, I'll take it. Besides, Ash and Ashton are family by marriage.

"Thank you, Mr. Turner." I got up and moved back down to my seat.

Mrs. Jacobs was called up next and I tried not to roll my eyes as she once again brought my sexuality into the equation. She kept talking about how I was going to make her grandchild the same as me and what if I ended up bringing random men into her son's home.

"And who says they're really married anyway? There was no wedding." She scoffed.

"Mrs. Jacobs, we have already been over this. Your son and Mr. Turner eloped. We have all the legal documentation here if you need to view it again." She turned up her nose and looked away. "No further questions."

I was staring into a cup filled with water when Ash came by. "I swear, if I have to listen to her talk one more time about how your lifestyle is unnatural, I'm going to blow a gasket."

I chuckled and chugged down the water. "I stopped caring about that ages ago. I've made everything clear. I'm not taking their grandson away from them, they can see Ashton anytime they like...I just want recognition for Tommy's and my relationship. That I meant so much to me, he trusted me with Ashton."

"I'm sure the judge will see it that way too, Kevin." She squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

"I hope so too."

Tony came up to us and didn't look happy. I frowned at him and he drank three cups of water before he began speaking. "I'll be honest with you guys, I don't know which way the judge is leaning."

"I thought we were doing good in there." Ash said.

"That's the thing. Everyone did good in there. Besides the sexuality thing, the Jacobs' have good reasons on why they want sole custody of Ashton." He sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen anymore."

"I guess we'll have to wait for the verdict." I responded. "Could I- could I really lose Ashton?"

"There's a possibility yes."

"And...would I ever be able to see him?"

"With the way they went on in there, if they win, you're never seeing that kid again." I let out a shaky breath and nodded. "We fought hard, Kevin."

Chad rushed toward us. "Hey, they're starting."

We all walked back to the courtroom and took our seats. The judge entered and we all stood up.

"I've looked over everything that was presented and this a tough call to make." I took a deep breath.

"In the case of Turner vs. Jacobs, sole custody of Ashton Jacobs goes to..."