Daniel follows Stevie inside, he can almost see the smoke that is coming from her ears, he has never seen her as furious as he just saw her. And unfortunately it seems like some of that anger is directed towards him.
"Baby wait! Talk to me." He finds her in the kitchen, her back turned towards him, pretty much throwing some stuff in the dishwasher.
Stevie stops what she was doing and grabs the counter, her shoulders are so tense that he wants nothing more than to touch her so she relaxes, but he is a little bit worried he might end up with a punch in the face if he does that now.
Her knuckles turn white from the force she is holding the counter with and her breathing is shallow and fast.
"Did you consider taking the offer and paying him to get the kids?" Her voice trembles from the anger she is holding in.
Daniel is weighing his words. He can deny it, but he doesn't want to lie to Stevie, they have always been honest with each other. Ok Stevie may have hidden her scars for him at first, but she had a good reason for that.
She has been lied to by the man she thought loved her for so long. He's not going going to do that to her.
"I thought about it for a moment."
Stevie turns around, tears in her eyes.
"Why Daniel? Why would you even consider it. They are children, not a loaf of bread. You can't put a price on my kids lives. They are worth more than any amount of money." Stevie feels so disappointed that Daniel would even think about giving Mitch and Tiffany money for her kids, their kids. It's just so wrong.
"I know baby, I know they are not a loaf of bread and I know they are worth a hell of a lot more than ten million." He starts.
"Then why?! Those assholes don't deserve it! They don't deserve to live their life in luxere after what they did! What they are doing! You know I want to do this the official way, you know we are going to win this! Then why would you even consider giving them so much money?"
Stevie starts to wonder if there's anything Daniel knows that she doesn't. Is everybody just saying they are going to win to make her feel better? Is she going to lose her kids after all? Is that why Daniel thought paying them would be better than taking it to court?
She swallows when that thought starts to push away her confidence about winning this.
"Did I just ruin it? Are we going to lose them Daniel? Please don't tell me you wanted to pay him because that's the only way we are going to keep our kids?" Her anger evaporates as the fear washes over her like a tidal wave, her entire body starts to shake just from the thought of her ruining their chance of keeping her kids. Maybe Daniel was just going to solve it all and she just destroyed their chances.
Daniel can see how her entire posture changes and he can read her mind.
He quickly closes the distance between them and holds her in his arms when she is fighting not to fall apart.
"Sweetheart listen to me. That is not the reason. Of course we are going to win this. You haven't ruined anything. Maybe I almost did. But we are going to win this."
He cups her face so she has to look at him, in his eyes she can see nothing but honesty and worry about her.
"The only reason I considered it was so you don't have to go through this anymore. I hate seeing you like this. You don't sleep, you barely eat. I get it, I do. It's extremely stressful and you don't deserve this. So I thought, maybe I can fix it."
He really hopes she will understand why he thought about it. In the end he would have discussed it with her first anyways and he kind of expected her not to be too thrilled, but for him it could have been the solution for everything.
"But what if you gave them the money? Then what? Who says they won't try to get more, he was blackmailing you Daniel. That's illegal. Too bad I didn't get it on video, because it would just be another piece of evidence that they are not the right people to raise kids, not ours, but also not kids of their own. I really hope they will never reproduce."
Stevie has calmed down a bit, she was livid when she saw Mitch and Daniel talking especially when she heard what it was about.
She was also mad at Daniel for considering it, even though now he explained it she understands it came from a good place. It is just not the way to go.
"You're right. I just feel so fucking useless. I can't do shit because I have to race. You are here, alone, trying to take care of it all. What good is all that money I have if I can't use it to help us? I just want to help you. I want you to be able to sleep again and to eat." Daniel feels a lump in his throat that he can't swallow down. He can't cry though. Stevie needs him to be strong, he can't turn in to a blubbering mess. Not now, not when she is already dealing with so much.
"I sleep and I eat." She tells him.
"No you don't. Don't lie to me. Tina told me you barely touch your food and she hears you walk around at night. I've only been away for a few days and I can tell you lost weight. I don't want you to get sick on top of it all."
Stevie wants to be mad at Tina, but she knows the young woman only means well. She doesn't want to be a snitch, but she is worried about Stevie's wellbeing.
"I'm just not hungry and as soon as I close my eyes I see images of Mitch dragging my kids away from me. I see Cole screaming, crying and kicking to get back to me. I see Zara in a panic because Tiffany is taking her from my arms. I can't sleep because I keep seeing those videos play out in my head and it drives me crazy. If that happens I won't survive."
In the strong, safe arms of the man she loves she cries. Even though she knows they have the odds in their favor, she is still a mother who is scared to death something will happen which will make the unexpected happen.
What if they get an old fashioned judge who feels a mother should stay home with her kids? What if the judge believes the videos Tiffany made? The chances might be slim, but it's not impossible.
"Oh my sweet girl. That's not going to happen. As soon as that judge hears how much we love our kids and how loved they are by everybody around them, they will make the right decision. And then we can all continue to travel the world and enjoy life. Then we can start planning our wedding and the rest of our lives together." Daniel prays he is right, because he knows if this ends badly, he will lose Stevie.
~~~~~~~~~
Of course Tiffany and Mitch didn't accept the letter, so it is taken to court. Somehow Martin pulled some strings and he managed to get the date set after the race in Jeddah. Which means the whole team is in the UK for a few days and so is Daniel. Even Joe and Grace flew in so take a stand.
Stevie has a long list of people who wanted to speak up for her, but if everybody would be called up they would probably need a week to hear everybody. So right now it's going to be her and Daniel, her parents, Melissa and Seb, Tina and Charles, Christian, Calum, Carl, Joe and Grace and even Adrian who are going to take a stand for her.
Geri, Christian's wife offered to watch the kids at their farmhouse for the day which was a relief for Stevie. Everyone who usually would watch the kids are going to be in court so this is the perfect solution. Cole was really looking forward to seeing the goats and donkeys again and Christian and Geri's kids were excited to have the two little ones over.
It's the day of the court case and Stevie is in front of her mirror trying to make herself look like a responsible mother. She has her hair up in a bun, but she hates how it makes her look. It's just not her and as she looks at herself in the mirror she sighs.
Daniel walks in buttoning up his light blue shirt when he hears her sigh.
"What's going on baby?"
He stands behind her to look at her through the mirror.
"I don't like the way I look. It makes me look ten years older." She points at her bun.
Daniel won't tell her that the lack of sleep and food also made her look older, he knows if today goes well she will finally be able to sleep again. And he is planning on stuffing her full of hamburgers and pizza to get her weight back up.
When he had to leave for Jeddah she promised him she would eat, but it's clear that she didn't. She lost so much weight that her clothes are loose around her body and she just looks unhealthy.
"Why don't you just braid it? You never wear a bun unless it's a messy one in the shower." He suggests.
"I want to look like an adult, somebody who is capable of taking care of her kids. Maybe a braid makes me look to immature."
Daniel shakes his head. It won't be how here hair looks that will make her win today.
"Stevie just be yourself. You don't have to pretend to be somebody you're not. The judge won't care if you have a bun or a braid. He will only care about what you have to say and what everybody else has to say about you."
He starts to pull the hairpins out of her hair until it cascades down her back in long waves.
"That's better. Don't worry about your hair. You look stunning and you're an amazing mother. The judge will understand that after hearing us all praise you."
A shaky smile appears on Stevie's face. Daniel's hands working on her hair made her body react. It has been so long since they were intimate. Her head just isn't in the right place and he hasn't tried because he understood.
The last time was probably before this whole thing started and she wants him, but she just can't surrender to it now. Her head is too full and she has too much stress.
Maybe once this is over and done with they can finally enjoy each other again. She really appreciates how patient he is and how he is not pushing her for it.
"Thanks my honey badger. I really love you." She looks into his eyes through the reflection of the mirror.
"I love you too. Now let's go and kick some ass."
Stevie quickly braids her hair and puts on a thin layer of lipgloss. As she stands up she wipes some invisible hairs of her dress, she knows her clothes are getting too wide, this dress was the only one that still looked alright on her.
It's a body hugging, knee length, navy dress with long sleeves. She knows she looks good in it and it's not too sexy. She takes a deep breath and slowly blows it out again, trying to relax her nerves, but she knows it's useless. The tension in her body is almost painful and she feels sick. Today she will know if she gets to keep her kids or if they are going to be taken away from her. That last option is just not something she wants to see as an possibility.
"Come on gorgeous, let's go and get this over with." Daniel holds out his hand which she takes. He is right as soon as they get this show on the road, hopefully they can move on with their lives.
Daniel drives and Stevie stares out of the window, both silent and thinking about the day that lies ahead. It will be a long day, it will be an exhausting day, but hopefully it will have a happy ending.
With every mile the come closer to the courthouse Stevie feels herself getting sicker and sicker.
When Daniel parks the car all she wants to do is throw up. But she hasn't eaten anything today, so there's nothing that could come out. Daniel tried to get her to eat, but she couldn't.
"Ready baby?" Daniel asks her after turning the engine off.
"Not really no. But I don't have much choice do I?" She sighs and tries to pull herself together so they can go inside.
She sees Sebs car, Christian's car is also already parked. Next to it is Tina's car and she also sees her parents Ford.
It's heartwarming that there's so many people here to support them, but she really wishes it wouldn't be necessary.
"Ok let's go." She suddenly says. She picks her purse up from the floor between her feet and unbuckles her seatbelt.
They both get out of the car and holding each others hands tightly they walk inside.
Martin is waiting for them, he has his little suitcase in his hand and looks very smart in his suit.
"Hey guys, we can walk right through. Everybody else is also here and very eager to take that stand. The amount of support is really incredible."
He leads them towards two large wooden doors. As he opens them, Stevie starts to shake. This is really it. This is the day where the future of her kids will be decided.
At first she doesn't even notice the entire courtroom is completely filled with people, but when she looks around she can see her entire kitchen staff. She can see pretty much all of the mechanics that work on the cars, it's like the entire team came to show their support.
"Oh my god. Did you know about this?" She whispers to Daniel.
"I've heard some people talk about it, but I didn't know everybody would actually show up." Daniel answers her.
Slowly they make their way down the middle aisle of the courtroom. While she looks around she sees the people of the team smiling encouraging and winking at her. It truly is amazing to see them all here.
In the front there's a spot reserved for them and Martin, on the other side of the aisle they see Tiffany and Mitch with their lawyer. He looks a bit like Danny DeVito, but a pretty shabby one.
Stevie doesn't even turn her head to look at them, she will have to look and listen to them more than she wants to today, so she decides to ignore them right now.
They take a seat behind the table and Martin starts to pull his papers from from his bag.
He seems confident and determined which seem to rub off on Daniel. Stevie wishes she could feel the same, but she can't. Not until she hears the judge tell them the kids can stay with them.
About two minutes later they all have to stand up as the judge walks in. Stevie takes a relieved breathe. Their judge is a woman in her late thirties or early forties. Stevie was a bit afraid they would get some old guy, but this judge could hopefully work in her benefit.
"Good morning. I'm judge Hudson. We are here today to discuss the case between Miss Dawson and Mr. Ricciardo against Miss Sexton and Mr Richards. This is about the wellbeing of two small children who are now living with Miss Dawson and Mr Ricciardo. Their biological father is Mr Richards who is in a relationship with Miss Sexton. Am I right so far?" She asks both lawyers who nod.
"Also Miss Dawson is accusing Miss Sexton of defamation of character because of videos Miss Sexton has posted online. In those videos Miss Sexton states the children are being put in dangerous situations which is the reason Mr Richards and Miss Sexton are filing for full custody."
Again both lawyers nod.
"Alright let's get started." She sits back and waits for Mitch and Tiffany's lawyer to step forward.
"Thanks Mrs Hudson. In the end we are all here for the wellbeing of two young children who didn't choose to be dragged over the world to be exposed to toxic exhaust fumes, loud noises and dangerous situations. They are mostly around strangers while their mother is supposedly working."
Stevie's jaw drops and she wants to defend herself but Martin and Daniel both put their hands on her arms to keep her seated and to make sure she doesn't start to yell through the courtroom. That's something the judge won't appreciate.
For Stevie the words feel like little daggers that stab her, it hurts hearing somebody she has never met before tell such lies about her to make her look like a bad mother. But when she feels the hands of Daniel and Martin on her arm she realizes she can't speak up yet. Her time will come.
The lawyer invites Mitch to take the stand so he steps forwards and takes a seat on the chair besides the judge. He swears to tell the truth and Stevie smirks. As if Mitch knows how to do that.
"Mr Richard's, you had a relationship with Miss Dawson is that right?" The Danny DeVito look a like starts.
"I did yes. For about five years I believe." Mitch answers.
"And from that relationship the two of you had two children?"
"Yes, Cole and Zara."
"And since the relationship ended you haven't seen your kids have you?" He asks.
Mitch shakes his head trying to look sad.
"I haven't no."
"Did you agree that Miss Dawson took the kids with her to travel the world?"
"We never spoke about it so I couldn't refuse." Mitch states and Stevie has to bite her tongue not to call him a liar. He blocked her so she couldn't contact him. Otherwise he would have known about it.
"So it seems like it would be better for the kids to live with you and your girlfriend to give the kids stability and a safe environment to grow up in." The lawyer concludes and Mitch nods.
"I would say so yes."
"I have no further questions."
The lawyer sits back down and Martin steps forward.
"Why did the relationship with Miss Dawson end?" He asks him.
Now Mitch starts to get uncomfortable. He knows he shouldn't lie about this, but he also knows it doesn't really look good when he tells Martin he had an affair.
"Well ehm, for a while I realized Stevie and I weren't really compatible anymore and I met Tiffany. We connected and I fell in love with her. That's when I ended it with Stevie."
He left out the part where he fucked Tiffany on Stevie's couch and that he dumped her while she was recovering from her breast surgery.
"And isn't it true that you blocked Miss Dawson's number so she couldn't get in touch with you when she got the job offer with Red Bull?" Martin continues.
"I ehm...."
"Just answer the question. A simple yes or no is enough."
Mitch sighs.
"Yes I did."
"So even though Miss Dawson tried to contact you about her new job and the fact that she would be traveling with the kids, you never received those messages and calls because you blocked her." He pauses for a second to let his words sink in with the judge.
"And in the time you and Miss Dawson broke up, you only came over one time saying you wanted to see the kids, but in reality you were trying to get back with Miss Dawson?"
"Well I actually came over twice. They are never home because they are traveling the entire time. So when I got the letter that Daniel wanted to adopt the kids I went over there again." Mitch explains.
"Of course, you showed up twice. So you broke up in August because you were cheating on Miss Dawson and then you showed up once about three months later and then again two months after that? So you really made an effort to see your kids didn't you?" Martin is loving the look on Mitch's face. The dumb man knows he is making a complete idiot of himself and the judge's face also shows that she doesn't exactly like Mitch.
"I already told you they are never home."
Mitch tries to defends his choices.
"But that isn't true is it? Yes they travel a lot, but from December until February they had winter break."
"Yes and they went to Australia. Thats the other side of the world." Mitch pouts.
"True, but before Miss Dawson took the kids to Perth she was at home with the kids for at least a week and after they came home you had plenty of options to go see your children."
"I did, I wanted them to spend the night so I could be with them." Mitch protests.
"Ah right, that was the second time you attempted to see your children. But Miss Dawson didn't want you to take them did she? They were about to leave for the airport and with you not being around for about six months, she didn't feel comfortable with you having the kids over."
Stevie knows Mitch is digging a grave for himself and Martin is just helping him make it deeper and deeper.
"I am their father, they are perfectly safe with me and Tiffany." Mitch states.
"You are their father yes. So tell me, how many bottles does Zara drink during the day?" Martin asks him.
"I don't know."
"And when does Zara take her naps?" Martin asks Mitch.
"I....I don't know. But Stevie could have told me."
"And you have a room for both of your kids to sleep in? With beds? You have car seats to transport them safely? You have a highchair so Zara can sit and eat safely? You have toys? Bottles? Formula?" It's like Martin keeps throwing punches at Mitch which he can't dodge.
"I don't have those things, but I asked Stevie if I could borrow them but she wouldn't let me?"
"So you wanted to take your kids without having anything for them? Nothing to take care of them, nothing to keep them safe. For me it sounds like Miss Dawson was actually being a great mother for making sure her kids didn't go to a place where nobody could guarantee their safety."
With that Martin turns away and goes back to his seat.
"I have no more questions." He smiles nicely to the judge who tells Mitch to go back to his own place. Mitch's face has lost its smug smile and he looks deflated. He knows Martin made it impossible for him to turn things around so he looks good.
Next up is Tiffany. Who also swears to tell the truth even though all she does is lie.
"Miss Sexton, you have been with Mr Richard's for a while now. Have you ever been introduced to his kids?" Her lawyer asks her.
"No I haven't. At first we wanted to be sure about our relationship, because it's not good to just introduce everybody you date to your kids. It's confusing for them to not know if that person will stick around or not."
It's like she is faulting Stevie for introducing Daniel to the kids before they were even dating. But they were friends first, so Stevie didn't see any harm in it. Besides they would be around him plenty as they were at every race anyways.
"It's good that you think of the children first. How has Mitch coped with not being able to see his kids?" She gets asked.
"He has ups and downs. We try to stay busy to distract us from not seeing them, but of course it's tough. Especially when he tries to see them and he gets a hard no."
It goes on like this for a while until it's Martins turn. So far Stevie has been rolling her eyes more than once from the shit Tiffany has been talking about. It's all so fake and she is trying so hard to make a good impression, but Stevie knows it's now Martins turn and he will roast her until there's nothing left of the blonde but ash.
"Miss Sexton, isn't it true that you and Mr Richards started dating while he was still in a committed relationship with Miss Dawson?" Martin starts off strong.
"They were together, but I can't really say if it was still a committed relationship." Tiffany answers. So she just admitted to be Mitch's mistress while he was still with Stevie.
"But the two of you were physically intimate before Mr Richards broke up with Miss Dawson?" Martin makes it sound like a question but in reality it's him stating a fact.
"I don't think they were still..."
"You swore to tell the truth, so please do that." Martin interrupts her.
"I guess we weren't able to resist each other until after Mitch ended his relationship. It's something which is very unlike me and I'm not proud of it."
Again Stevie has to bite her tongue to not say something. Tiffany seemed to have forgotten that she tried it on with Daniel while she was very aware about him being with Stevie.
She can't wait to get up there and defend herself.
"You made a video to show the world Miss Dawson is an unfit mother. In that video you show her telling Mr Richards no when he asks to see the kids and you show how Cole is in the Red Bull garage with one of the mechanics without his mom. You show the kids being brought to the paddock by their nanny, without their mother. So you would think after seeing that video that indeed she isn't really around with her kids."
Tiffany nods.
"Yeah, I didn't like doing it, but I felt it wasn't fair that everybody didn't see how she really was."
Stevie feels Daniel squeeze her arm. He knows right now Martin is going to destroy Tiffany and he can't wait.
"I would like to show everybody the video." Martin tells the judge who nods to acknowledge he can.
The video starts to play on a big screen behind the judge who turns around to see it.
The thing is, it's not the video Tiffany posted, but the unedited one she had to give to the lawyer when she was sued for defamation.
Tiffany's face turns pale when she realizes they aren't showing the one she posted. She knew her lawyer had been working to make sure the real video wouldn't be allowed as evidence, but he didn't tell them his objection got dismissed.
Right now the judge and everybody in the room can see that Stevie offered Mitch to see the kids inside, that Mitch admitted he didn't have any stuff to take care of the kids. And it shows that Tiffany pressured Mitch to choose her over his kids when she didn't want to be left outside.
"I have nothing more." Martin says once the video is done.