Family of Hamilton-ON HIATUS

Hope

Today starts my journey to bring Ryan back home with us to NYC. I barely slept a wink as I went over what I wanted to say to the judge in my head. Skye came over to my room about 4 am when she noticed my light was still on, we talked until 7 am when it was time to get up.

"Good morning baby girl, Skye" Mami said as we walked into the kitchen. "Your Papi has left for work already but promises to be home when we get back. Everyone else is till asleep. Eat you something girls we have to go soon."

After we finished our quick breakfast we headed to the court for the meeting with the judge. Today I got to meet Mrs. Peterman for the first time, she was a friend of Mami's lawyer friend. She was very nice but also very through. She told me what to expect and made sure I knew to be as honest as possible.

"Good morning ladies" the judge said as we walked into the courtroom. "This is just a formailty as I have made my decision. I just need to speak with Dania for a few minutes is all. Are you ready for my questions young lady?"

I nodded as I sat down to face the judge. She sighed "I know when we first met I was rather harsh, the thing is that I hadn't studied your case. Now that I have it made me realize I had jumped to the wrong conclusion about you. It doesn't mean that I can be a push over but I also wish to get to know you better. I think for Ryan's sake it's best to cover all bases."

I nodded "I couldn't agree more. She is the most important person in all of this. I honestly want what is best for her no matter the outcome of this."

"Even if the outcome is that she remains with the family she has been placed with?" she asked bluntly.

Sighing I nodded "Yes even if that is the case. I can at least leave here knowing that she is where she belongs. Whether that is with me or with them, we will see right?"

She nodded "Exactly! We will see after you have your chance to spend time with her and get to know her. Anyway right now is about getting to know you and where your heart is. Can you tell me about the circumstances leading up to you giving birth to Ryan?"

I nodded "I was 13 and was living with my aunt & uncle in New York City. They frequently had parties and invited over people who were not always the best people. Normally I tried to stay away from the parties but a few times they put things in my drink. Either booze or drugs one will never know as they are dead now. All I know is that one of those times I was sexually assualted by several men. I was then thrown into the living room with barely any clothes on and made fun of by my so called family. A little while later I discovered I was pregnant. I was terrified as I was only 13 and had zero means to take care of myself or a child" I said pausing to wipe at the tears.

The judge looked at me with sympathy and urged me to continue. "I can honestly say I was NOT proud of my next choice. I went to a clinic to take care of the problem as my aunt once told me about. Once there I couldn't go through with it, I couldn't abort my baby. So instead I chose to go through with the pregnancy. Once my aunt and uncle found out, life was hell in that house. The abuse that was heaped on me caused me to go into early labor and my daughter was born just days after my 14th birthday. Today...today actually is her second birthday" I whispered realizing the date.

The judged nodded "That is noted here in the records her foster parents gave me. So once you gave birth you gave her up for adoption correct? Did you have any contact with the adoptive parents?"

"Yes that is correct" I nodded. "The Bishops were amazing adoptive parents and took great care of Ryan. They sent me pictures and letters often, but when they moved to London the letters were less and less. Then we were alerted that they had died in a car crash. Luckily for us we were on our way here thanks to my dad's job. That is when I filed the paper work to get Ryan back."

"What about this PI that was hired to keep track of the Bishop's and now the family that is fostering Ryan. Was that your idea? Don't act so surprised" the judge shrugged "I've seen lots of different angles birth parents use to keep track of their child."

"My parents hired him without my knowledge" I admitted. "We actually had a big fight about that when I found out. I am thankful for him though now because that is how we found out about the car wreck. Had we not had him, I might have never found out that my daughter was being cared for by another family. I might have assumed she was killed with the Bishop's when news of their death got back to me. I don't think that is any way a parent should learn of their child's death."

"You are right" she nodded "it does make sense in the long run. Let's get down to the present shall we. What are you hoping to gain from being granted visitation with Ryan?"

"A bond with my daughter" I responded honestly. "I don't want to be presented as her mother at first. I just want to meet her and get to know her. I want a chance to see how she is doing and what life is like with her foster family. If in the end things turn out that she should come home with me, then so be it. If it turns out she is better off here in London with her foster family then I won't stand in the way of them adopting her. I honestly want what is best for her" I admitted.

The judge nodded "That is exactly what I wish to hear. Starting upon your return on December 27 from the states you will be granted twice weekly visits WITH supervision. Once we see how those go then we will move to other options. Can you agree to that?"

I smiled "Yes I am happy with that. As I said, I want to do what is best for all involved. Thank you, your honor for everything today. I was afraid going into this meeting but you have put me at ease."

She grinned "That is what I was hoping for. I also have one more surprise Ryan's social worker has set up. She told me about your first impromtu meeting with Ryan at the restaurant the night of your birthday. Well it would seem the family is returning there tonight to celebrate her birthday. I am NOT saying you should go celebrate your own victory there tonight but it is a great restaurant. Anyway court adjorned for this case" she said as she put down her gavel.

"I know what we are doing tonight" I chuckled as we walked out of the court and headed for our car. "It will be a perfect way to cap off our family visiting anyway. We should all dress up and have a nice night out."

A/N

I decided to split this into two parts as so much was contained in this first part. The next part will have the party and then the next day as everyone leaves for New York City.