A/N: Hiiii! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Honestly I was procrastinating a little because we're starting to get into legal stuff now and legal stuff gives me the biggest headache. But I finally got it done! I hope it's okay - I know legal things can be boring asf but I tried to keep it interesting!
~Harry~
After speaking with some of my lawyers, I was advised to seek out a family attorney to help with the adoption case and guide me through what exactly it is that I have to do to officially adopt Piper. And when they told me that, I already had the perfect person in mind.
I was scrolling through my phone attentively to see if I still had his number. I didn't remember ever deleting it, so I was hoping it was just buried in my contacts somewhere. And luckily, after a few minutes, I finally found it.
I didn't waste any more time and dialled the number straight away – holding the phone to my ear and listening to it ring.
"Brandon Harvey, Family Law. How can I help?"
"Brandon? It's Harry Styles," I replied to him, "you represented me and my partner in a family court dispute a while back, if you remember?"
"Oh, Mr Styles! Yes, of course I remember," he sounded like he was smiling, "it's good to hear from you. How can I be of service?"
"Well..." I paused for a moment, "both Leah and I still remember the amazing job you did of representing us while we were trying to earn sole custody of Leah's daughter. And I was hoping you could help me out again..." I bit my lip a little, "...is there any chance you can help me out with adopting her?"
"Oh, you want to adopt the child? Wonderful!" He sounded genuinely happy for me, "Absolutely. Of course I can help you with that."
"Really?" I felt myself starting to smile.
"Certainly," he replied, "there would be a lot to go over, though. Not exactly the most suitable conversation for a phone call," I heard him chuckle, "how about we arrange a meeting? We can double-check that you actually meet the Camden Council's requirements for adoption, and then we'll go over the process from scratch. Sound good?"
I immediately nodded. "It does. When are you soonest available?"
"I've got an opening a couple of days from now. Does that work for you?"
I nodded again. "Would it be too much to ask you to make a house call? I just, er...I'm a bit anxious about being spotted walking into your Law Firm or something. I don't...really want any of this to be noticed by any sort of media."
"Completely understandable. That's fine – I can make a house call, no problem."
"Thank you," I said with a grateful smile, "I'm happy to pay you extra for your trouble, if you want."
"Don't worry about it," he assured me, "we'll slot you in for that appointment now, shall we? I'll see you in a couple of days."
***
Brandon made it to the house at our scheduled time that morning while Leah was out taking Piper to school. I did tell her that by the time she gets back, we'd probably have company – and explained to her that Brandon had agreed to assist us with the adoption. Leah was happy and even excited to see Brandon again – and I didn't blame her. She was still as grateful to him as I was for everything he'd done during our dispute with Heath.
"Right, Harry," Brandon set his briefcase down on the dining table and began shuffling through some papers, "so, let's start off by clarifying what we're actually trying to achieve here," he cleared his throat, "just to make sure I have my facts right: your intention is to adopt Leah Marrone's daughter, Piper Marrone, yes?"
"That's right."
"So, what you're looking at is something called 'Single Person Adoption'," he began to explain, "what that means is, you're looking at adopting a child to become her father by law. Leah is already Piper's mother by law and by birth, so she doesn't have to worry about any of that herself. But I imagine she'll still be heavily involved in this process, anyway."
"Alright..." I nodded slowly, "so, er...how do we start this off?"
"Well..." Brandon cleared his throat again, "like I mentioned on the phone, I just have to quickly check that you actually meet the Camden Council's minimum requirements for adoption first," he pulled out a pen and a notebook and flicked to a new page, "so, Harry: have you been in a stable relationship with Leah, Piper's mother, for at least twelve months?"
"I have," I nodded again, "we celebrated our second anniversary not too long ago," I began to smile a little, "I, er...I've also asked her to marry me, if that helps my case at all."
"Oh?" Brandon looked up from his notebook and instantly smiled back at me, "You're engaged now?"
"We are," my smile grew.
"Congratulations! That's wonderful! Definitely helps your case, yes – it's further reassurance to anyone who reviews your case in the future that you're both in a stable, committed relationship – and aren't trying to do this purely on some whim. But I'm honestly so happy for you both."
"Thank you," I replied with a chuckle.
"Next question," he continued, "have you been living as a family unit for at least six to twelve months?"
"We have," I nodded, "we've all lived together for over a year, now."
"Perfect!" Brandon jotted down in his notebook with a grin on his face, "Well, that was easy. You definitely meet the requirements, no problem. Now, let's move on."
We were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing down the hall – and we both looked up to see that Leah had returned from dropping off Piper and was now entering the house with Aria in her arms.
"Hello darling," I couldn't resist greeting her with a smile.
"Oh gosh! Hi, honey – I almost didn't even see you two there!" Leah entered the dining room and smiled back at us, "Hello, Brandon! It's so lovely to see you again!"
"Likewise, Leah," Brandon smiled at her as well – but his eyes widened a little as he caught sight of Aria, "well, well, well! Who's this little angel?"
"Oh my God, of course! You wouldn't have known about her!" Leah came closer to the table to introduce our baby girl to Brandon, "This is Aria. She's our little girl."
"She's very friendly," I chimed in with a smile, "she likes meeting new people."
"Hello, Aria!" Brandon beamed at her which instantly made her smile back at him, "Look at that smile! Aren't you gorgeous?"
Aria's smile grew, and she began to flail her arms a little as she sat on Leah's hip. I wasn't sure if she was trying to wave at him or if she was just excited – but either way, it was making Brandon's face light up.
"I can't believe I never heard that you two had another child," Brandon chuckled, "I'm sure it would've been on the news, but mind you – I don't follow it that much."
"Well, we're trying to keep her out of the spotlight as much as we can, anyway," I said.
"Fair enough. Allow me to pass on my belated congratulations."
"Thank you, Brandon," Leah smiled at him cordially.
"And I realize that even more congratulations are in order, Leah," Brandon continued, "Harry told me just now that the two of you are engaged."
"Yes, we are!" Leah cheerfully nodded, "We're so excited, honestly. And we can't think of a better time for Harry to adopt Piper than right now."
"I completely agree," Brandon said with a nod and a smile, "we were just talking about that now. Would you like to join us? You'll be involved in this quite a bit, after all."
"I'd love to," Leah smiled again, "would anyone like anything before I sit down? Tea, maybe?"
"You're very hospitable, as always, but please don't trouble yourself," Brandon smiled back at her, "come and sit."
Leah nodded and she reached into her bag to pull out one of Aria's teething rings. I presumed it was because it'd help keep her busy while we talked. Plus, now that she was six months old, she definitely had some teeth starting to cut through.
Leah sat down in the free chair beside me, and I saw Aria look at me and begin to reach out to me slightly – causing me to smile at her.
"Oh, do you want a cuddle from daddy?" Leah asked her with a chuckle, "Of course you do. It's been all of twenty minutes since you last saw each other."
Leah passed Aria to me – and my sweet girl flashed me a bright smile as I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead before letting her settle onto my lap. Leah handed me the teething ring which I gave to Aria to start chewing on.
"Right, so..." Brandon spoke up again once he recognized that we were all comfortable, "you meet the requirements, so that's great. To start this off, here's what you have to do," he cleared his throat once more, "since this is Single Person Adoption, and you're actually in a relationship with one of the child's legal parents, you're going to have to write a letter to the Camden Council, Harry."
"A letter about what?" I asked as I lightly brushed my thumb against Aria's face.
"It's basically like a...letter of intent," he replied, "it's a bit tedious, but the purpose of it is to officially notify the Camden Council of your intent to adopt Piper."
"How do I write that, exactly?"
"Well, first things first, you'll have to make sure you state your purpose as clear as day: 'My intention is to adopt Piper Marrone', et cetera, et cetera. Then you'll have to state that you're in a relationship with the mother of the child you're planning to adopt, state how long you've been together, and definitely state that you're soon to be legally married. I'll be helping you write it, though – so you don't have to worry about it too much. Doesn't even need to be long. Best to keep it short and sweet."
"What happens after I send it through?" I asked him.
"In time, they should send back a response letter as an official acknowledgement of your intentions. In that letter should include an offer for you to make an appointment with one of their social workers."
He paused for a moment to look through some notes.
"Additionally, you should be receiving some enquiries from the Health Authority and Child Welfare services, which is usually a background check to make sure that you've never actually harmed a child, and making sure that you're actually physically, emotionally, and mentally capable to care for a child. I wouldn't fret about that, though – you seem more than capable to me. It's just what they have to do for anyone who wants to adopt."
"I understand," I assured him with a nod, "and then what?"
"Once the background checks are clear, your selected social worker will be meeting with you frequently to learn more about you, your family, and the child you're planning to adopt. So, that includes meetings with yourself, Leah, Piper, and probably her grandparents."
I heard Leah's breath hitch which made me turn my head to look at her. When I saw the look on her face after Brandon mentioned Piper's grandparents, my heart sank. Her expression was stoic, but I could see the pained look behind her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide.
I could tell she was mustering the confidence to tell Brandon the truth about Piper's grandparents, but I hated seeing that look on her face. Leah's parents had completely broken her. Every time they're mentioned, she slips right into looking just like a lost, abandoned child – and I was furious with them for making her feel this way.
"Piper's grandparents aren't really involved in her life," I decided to speak up for Leah since she was clearly struggling to talk about it herself, "Leah's relationship with her parents...isn't great."
"Oh, I see..." Brandon's brow furrowed slightly out of concern for her, "Leah, I'm so sorry to hear that."
"It's fine," her voice was low, and her hands were tightly clasped together.
I could see her anxiously picking at the skin on her fingers. She took a deep breath, but her exhalation was shaky. She was silent for several moments before she finally spoke up.
"Sorry Brandon, but I don't think Piper's grandparents will be very helpful to our case," she was speaking slightly more confidently, and there was a tone of resentment in her voice, "they can't even remember her name."
"That's unfortunate, Leah. I'm so sorry," Brandon was solemn, "but, please...don't worry. We can easily rule your parents out as completely irrelevant to the case. If no relationship between them and Piper exists, we don't have to reach out to them at all. It doesn't affect you and Harry's case whatsoever."
"Thank you," she sniffled a little, "if it helps, Piper absolutely loves Harry's mother Anne. They get along so well. Piper calls her 'Nana'," she was finally starting to smile again, "she's the closest thing to a grandparent that Piper has."
"Wonderful! The social worker can speak to Anne instead, then," Brandon smiled back at her, "and the fact that Piper gets along so well with her will be very beneficial to your case."
I heard Leah let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. That's really good."
Brandon smiled at her. "What we're aiming for at the end of all this, is for all of you to attend an Adoption Hearing, where the judge will review all the paperwork we've done, and hear statements from you and possibly everyone else directly involved in your lives that you, Harry, will be a suitable and capable parent to Piper. But if you and Leah convince the judge enough that you're suitable just by yourselves, they might not need to hear from anyone else outside your nuclear family. It just depends, really."
"Fuck. Okay..." I bit my lip a little, "that sounds like...a lot..."
"I know," Brandon acknowledged me, "once the judge is satisfied, they'll sign the adoption papers. And as soon as their signature is on those papers, Harry, you'll officially be Piper's legal father."
"Jesus..." I blew out some air, "this is a lot more complicated than I thought..."
"Legal things are always complicated," Brandon said with a chuckle, "if it sounds like it'll be too much for you, you're more than welcome to reconsider your decision."
"Oh no," I immediately shook my head, "I don't need to reconsider. This is what I want. It's just..." I sighed, "...I think I'm gonna need a lot of guidance."
"Well, that's why I'm here," Brandon smiled at me, "I'll be walking you through every step, Harry. Promise."
"How long between now and the actual adoption hearing, d'you reckon?" I asked him.
"Considering how much we have to do? We're talking months."
"Fuck me!" Leah's words seemed to blurt out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Brandon laughed. "I know. It's a long time. But there is a lot involved in this. I'd love to sit here and list out every single thing we have to do from scratch, but I don't want to overwhelm you. We'll just take it one step at a time."
"That sounds good," I said with a nod, and I saw Leah smile before she started nodding as well.
"I've worked with you both before. It's easy to tell that you're both good people. I really do think that this whole thing will go by smoothly. Well, actually..." he hesitated, "...there is really only one thing that could possibly turn this process towards a rocky road, but it's a big one. And it's that if the child's biological parents are still alive and know about the child's existence, you need their consent before you can adopt them. So, that doesn't just mean Leah, but Piper's biological father, as well."
My eyes widened.
Fuck.
I forgot about that.
"Right...that's kind of what we figured," I bit my lip again, "shit...do we really have to, though..?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Brandon replied with an apologetic nod, "you're trying to become Piper's father, Harry. So, he needs to agree to waive his rights as her biological father first."
I lowered my eyes and let out a long sigh. "Well, that's definitely not gonna be easy."
"Yes, I still partly remember Piper's biological father from your custody hearing last year. He was a right nutcase," Brandon rolled his eyes, "what was his name again?"
"Heath. Foster," There was bitterness in Leah's tone as she answered him, "to be honest, we haven't actually seen him in a while. There was...an incident," she hesitated, "a few months back, just after Aria was born, Heath started acting very strange."
I nodded. "We never told him where Leah had given birth, but he found out anyway by looking at the tabloids and finding photos of Piper and I walking out of the Royal London Hospital. Then he tried to visit Leah, and he scared the shit out of her."
"He started trying to over-involve himself in everything. Aria's birth, my recovery...it was...bad," Leah bit her lip, "then one day, Harry took Piper to that visitation centre they always had their visits at, but Heath was expecting me. We knew, because he'd bought me some sort of ridiculous flower bouquet. Obviously, when Harry figured it out, things started getting hostile between them, then Piper tried to stop them from fighting...and Heath just screamed in her face."
"What?" Brandon's eyes widened.
"There was no way I was letting him see Piper after he just did that," I continued, "I made the call to end the visit right there and take Piper straight back home, and...he wasn't happy. He was shouting at us, trying to force the car open...but luckily, I'd locked the doors. The whole thing just got so ugly so fast."
"That same night, we spoke to him about it," Leah added, "My intention was to tell him that I didn't care about the court order anymore, and that I refuse to let him be involved in Piper's life any longer. But before I could even do that, Piper had snuck downstairs, listened to our conversation, and pretty much...completely disowned Heath."
"Disowned him?" Brandon was startled.
"She called him by his first name," Leah replied, "and she didn't even hesitate."
"Jesus Christ..." the lawyer muttered under his breath.
"After that, I dismissed Heath from the house, and told him to never come back," she continued, "and I was fully prepared for a fight, because I was almost convinced that he'd try to start one, but...he never did. In fact, he even called the courthouse and told him to forget about the supervised visitation, because he wasn't interested in seeing Piper anymore."
"Hmm..." Brandon thought about Leah's words for several moments, "well...would that make convincing him to waive his rights slightly easier, d'you think? Because he actually expressed to the court that he wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with his daughter any longer?"
"If I can be honest with you, Brandon...I really doubt it," Leah let out a long sigh, "I'm almost certain he'd fight us, or at least try to make us really work for his consent. That's just the type of shithead that he is – pardon my language."
"I see," Brandon nodded, "and, to be honest, judging by what he was like at the custody hearing...I can definitely see that happening as well. So, it's looking like getting his consent has to be one of the first things that we do."
"What?" My eyes widened a little, "Are you serious?"
He nodded again. "I'm sorry, Harry, but we won't be able to complete this adoption without Heath's consent. If he's going to be as troublesome as you believe...then unfortunately, we have to get him out of the way first. Otherwise, there's no point in pursuing this any further. The time it'll take for this adoption to be finalized is way too long to even bother getting into it without that consent."
"How long are we talking?" Leah asked.
"It's probably gonna take about six months to do everything to make the adoption official. At least," Brandon said, "not counting how long it might take for you to convince Heath Foster to waive his rights."
"Jesus..." I muttered under my breath, "shit. Alright. I guess...we're gonna have to..." my voice trailed away.
"...Contact him," Leah finished for me with a long sigh, "God, he's gonna be such a dick about it. I'm almost certain."
"Better get it over and done with, then," I ended up sighing as well, "we'll figure something out. Don't worry, darling."
***
"So..." I spoke up slowly as Leah and I sat alone in the living room that night, "how do we do it? How do we contact him?"
"Well, I still have his number," Leah said, "it's just blocked."
"That's a good start."
"Harry, he's not gonna do it," Leah shook her head hopelessly, "there's no way in hell he'd let you adopt Piper."
"We'll see," I was determined, "I'll just try to arrange a meeting with him, and-"
"Harry," Leah cut me off gently, "getting him to meet you is already gonna be a pain in itself."
"Ugh..." I deeply sighed, "true. There's a very low chance he'd actually agree to meet up with me, isn't there?"
Leah only nodded. I lowered my eyes and sighed again before we spent the next few moments in anxious silence.
"Unless..." she suddenly spoke up, "there might possibly be one way."
Her words piqued my interest, and I turned my head to look at her.
"What's that, love?"
"If you text him from my phone," she began in a low voice, "and pretend to be me, you might have a higher chance of getting him to meet up with you."
"What?" My eyes widened a little, and I immediately shook my head, "No. No way, Leah. God only knows what he might do if he realizes we tricked him like that."
"It might be the only thing we can do, Harry," said Leah, "I can't imagine anything you can possibly say to him yourself to convince him to see you."
"Leah," I looked at her seriously, "are you sure about this?"
Leah nodded and pulled her phone out from her pocket before handing it to me. "Take it, Harry. Unblock his number and ask him to meet you somewhere."
"How do you know he hasn't blocked your number?" I asked her as I took her phone.
"I doubt it," Leah said, "if he has, I'd be very surprised."
"Fair point."
As I scrolled through her phone, I found Heath's contact details under her blocked numbers. I unblocked the number and opened a new chat thread with him, but before I typed anything, I looked up at Leah once more.
"I'm really not comfortable with this, love," I anxiously bit my lip, "what if he starts harassing you or something?"
"Well, we're working with a lawyer right now," she gave me a soft smile, "if anything like that happens, I'm sure Brandon will be able to help."
"I guess..." I nodded slowly, "okay. What do I say?"
"Anything you want," Leah shrugged, "make him believe that we're going through a rough patch, if you want. Just say anything to make him think he has another chance."
I nodded again before dropping my eyes back down to the phone in my hands. After contemplating on how to start the conversation for several moments, I slowly started to tap a couple of messages out.
Heath? It's Leah.
Is this still your number?
I wasn't expecting a quick response. And that's why I was startled when Leah's phone suddenly went off just a few minutes later.
Heath: Leah?
Heath: Yeah, this is still my number.
Heath: What's going on? Why are you suddenly reaching out?
Three messages at once?
I see he's still as desperate as ever.
"Leah": I need to talk to you.
Heath: About what?
Heath: Look, I did what you wanted. I'm staying away. I told the court I didn't want to see Piper anymore.
Heath: What more could you possibly want?
"Leah": I need your help.
Heath: With what?
"Leah": I don't know why, but lately I've really been wanting to see you.
"Leah": Harry and I are going through some things. We've been growing apart, and I've been thinking of you.
Heath: Wait, are you serious?
Heath: Like, actually serious?
"Leah": Yeah. I am.
"Leah": I want to see you. Will you meet me?
Heath: Where?
I thought about it.
I had to choose the meeting place carefully. I wanted to decrease the chances of anyone seeing us as much as possible. It needed to be quiet, secluded...and a good place to talk in private. After all, I'm trying to convince the guy that Leah's actually trying to meet him behind my back.
After several moments of thinking, I finally had an idea.
"Leah": How about the Hill Garden and Pergola? In Hampstead?
"Leah": It's nice and quiet there. Not many people know about it. It'll be good privacy for us.
Heath: I know the place. It's kinda far away though, Leah. For me, at least.
"Leah": I know. But I really want a quiet place for us to talk.
"Leah": Will you meet me there? Please?
A couple of minutes passed by with no response from him. And I was really hoping it just meant he was thinking about it, and not that he's found me out.
Surely not.
I'm not making it that obvious...am I?
Finally, the phone went off again.
Heath: Alright, Leah. I'll meet you. What time?
Thank fuck.
"Leah": Morning. Maybe 10-ish?
Heath: What are you gonna tell Harry? Won't he ask where you're going?
"Leah": I'll tell him I'm meeting Ashley.
Heath: OK. Sounds like a plan.
Heath: I'll see you tomorrow then.
"Leah": Thank you, Heath. It'll be good to see you.
Heath: Yeah. It'll be good to see you, too.
"Well," I finally spoke up, "I think I've done it. Want to have a read?" I offered Leah's phone back to her.
She took the phone from me and read through the conversation. And when she was done, I saw her smile a little.
"So, you really did convince him that we're having problems," she chuckled softly, "I'm impressed."
"I figured it was the easiest way to get him to agree," I chuckled as well, "if he thinks we're in trouble, it opens up an opportunity for him to get you back, as far as he's concerned. Desperate assholes like him would naturally leap at that opportunity."
Leah giggled. "You're not wrong," she then began to bite her lip a little, "I hope he actually shows up. Otherwise, we're fucked."
"Let's not fret too much about it now," I leaned in and kissed her forehead, "no point in dwelling on it when it's still like, twelve hours away."
"That's true..." I saw her smile at the feeling of my lips against her skin, "are you...are you sure you still wanna do this, Harry..?"
"I'm sure," I reassured her with a warm smile, "whatever it takes to adopt Piper, I'll do it. I don't care."
It wasn't a lie. I want to be Piper's father. At this point, I'm completely set and focused on adopting her...and I won't let anyone get in my way. Not even Heath.
I love that little girl with all my heart.
And I would do anything to finally call her my daughter.
A/N: So, I feel like this chapter wasn't great. I've been reading a lot of anime fanfics lately and they're taking up nearly my whole mind 😅
YES. OKAY. I LIKE ANIME BOYS TOO. I MAY AS WELL EXPOSE MYSELF BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES.
Hardcore simping for a demon boy called Lucifer rn help me