A/N: Next chapter is here :D And it's actually pretty damn long, so prepare yourselves hehe
"Miss Herrera, have you ever seen any signs of abusive behaviour from Mr Foster?"
"No, Your Honour," Danica shook her head, "we barely argue – and even when we do, he doesn't lay a finger on me. It seems like Leah is the only person who can really test his nerves."
I immediately rolled my eyes at her statement.
Thank you very much, Danica.
"Leah is too protective of her daughter," Danica continued, "she usually totally overreacts whenever she hears that Heath has made even a minor mistake. She did the exact same thing about all of this – which is why we're in this court today."
"Er..." Judge Alexandra frowned, "Miss Herrera, wasn't Miss Marrone upset with Mr Foster because her young child saw things she shouldn't have seen?" She gave her a look, "Such as him and you engaging in sexual relations while she was just next door?"
Danica blushed. "Your Honour...I-I guess all I can say about that is...i-it was a moment of weakness?"
"But so close to your daughter, Mr Foster?" The judge turned her attention to Heath, "Looks like you need to start thinking a little more with the head in your scalp – not the one in your pants."
Heath seemed startled by the judge's words – and I saw his cheeks start to flush a little as well.
"Like Danica said, Your Honour, it was just a moment of weakness," he replied, "but it is not a good reason for Leah to request all this BS about supervised visitation!"
Alexandra cocked an eyebrow at him. "But she hasn't requested 'this BS' because of that, Mr Foster. She's requested it out of concern for the behaviour you've displayed."
"Allegedly displayed, Your Honour," Heath retorted, "she's making way too big a deal about it."
"Miss Marrone is not the victim here, Your Honour," Heath's lawyer chimed in, "it is my client who is the victim – as he was dealt far more physical injury. It's his behaviour that you should really be concerned about," he looked at Harry with narrowed eyes, "at least Mr Foster wasn't throwing his fists around during the incident."
I saw Harry lower his eyes a little – clearly showing that he was starting to feel guilty for what he'd done when he didn't even have to. So, I quickly slipped my fingers into his out of the hope that he might feel a little comforted.
"Oh, yes. I nearly forgot about that," Judge Alexandra laced her fingers together on the countertop and looked at Harry, "Mr Styles, please tell me more about your own clash with Mr Foster."
I heard Harry gulp quietly, and I gave his hand a quick squeeze – hoping it would give him a confidence boost. And it actually seemed to work – since he took one long, deep breath before finally looking up at the judge.
"Your Honour, it is true that I punched him. But I only did it out of defence for Leah," his voice was clear and confident, "I didn't witness the whole confrontation between Leah and Heath, I admit – because I was out of the house. But when I got home, I saw all I needed to see," I felt him tense up a little, "he treated her like a rag doll – throwing her against the walls and constantly taunting her, saying stuff like 'Does that hurt, Leah?! Does that hurt?!'," he gritted his teeth a little, "I couldn't watch it, Your Honour. I had to stop him. And...I know that...punching him in the face wasn't exactly the best way to go, but I...I did just it...without even thinking..." he let out a sigh.
"Your Honour," Brandon spoke up after Harry, "if it helps, we have a physical record of the whole incident," he said, "there's a security system set up in my clients' home, and the security cameras caught the whole thing on tape," he opened his briefcase and held up a disc in a clear plastic case.
Judge Alexandra looked intrigued. "Do you really?"
"Yes, Your Honour," Brandon nodded, "would you like to see it?"
"Yes, I'd love to," she immediately nodded, "David, pop that video in the disc player, please," she told the bailiff.
The bailiff nodded and made his way over to our table – taking the DVD from Brandon's hand and walking to the disc player and small TV that was set up in the corner of the room. While he set up the video, I took a moment to sneak a quick glance at Heath's table. I saw that Heath was staring at the TV with wide eyes and a fearful look on his face – and I felt myself smile a little.
As per Brandon's advice, I never told Heath that we had physical proof of the incident – since Brandon thought that telling him would give him an opportunity to strengthen his own argument by devaluing the video in some way. After all, he was a law student who also had his own lawyer – so we were all pretty sure he'd be able to figure out how to do that.
Alexandra's bailiff finally set up the DVD, and he stepped away from the TV as the footage began to play.
"For one, you decided to just go ahead and leave town to live with your flashy new boyfriend, you decided to take Piper with you, and because of that, you're making me drive four fucking hours every Friday night to pick Piper up and take her to my place, and two hours every Sunday evening, just so I can drop her back off! Now that really pisses me off, Leah! It's a waste of my time, and a waste of my gas!"
"Oh, we're back with this again, are we?! Well, if you don't think Piper's worth the effort, you can always just stop doing it, and spend no time with her at all!"
"Oh yeah, you'd fucking love that, won't you? With me out of the picture, you and Piper can just go on and play Happy Families with Harry, and just pretend that I'm not even Piper's father at all! That's just your one and only dream, isn't it?!"
I forced myself to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat as I watched the footage back. This was honestly one of the worst experiences of my life – and I did not want to re-live the whole thing.
"Why the fuck are you making it so hard for me, Leah?! Moving two fucking hours away, which you shouldn't even have done in the first place?! Why would you do all that shit, huh?!"
I let out a soft whimper as I watched the way he started to back me up against the wall. I felt Harry's body stiffening beside me as he began to tense up all over again. While he knew every detail of the incident, he hadn't yet had the opportunity to watch the whole thing from scratch – and I could tell how much it was already pissing him off.
"Fuck off, Heath! You don't get to tell me what I can do! You can't tell me that I can't live with Harry when you've been living with Danica for God-knows-how-long!"
"HEY! I wouldn't have minded if you all moved into that flash apartment at Warnes that he bought, but London is fucking ridiculous, Leah!"
"Oh, really?! Well, you didn't seem to think that when me and Harry first approached you with our plans to move! As far as we were concerned, you were happy to drive the distance – because we thought you'd feel like the travel was worth it to be with your daughter!"
Knowing that the dreaded moments were coming, I took Harry's arm and pulled him close to me to comfort myself – and he responded by protectively wrapping his arm around my waist.
"Well, you thought wrong. Fuck you, Leah. I'm fucking sick of this!"
"Yeah?! Are you sick of seeing Piper, too?!"
"DON'T FUCKING SAY THAT TO ME AGAIN! IT'S NOT PIPER I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH! IT'S YOU, LEAH!"
As I watched him grab me and shove me against the wall, I immediately jumped as the loud thud of my body hitting the painted wood instantly startled me. I think I even had to stop myself from screaming a little.
"I don't know what the fuck I ever saw in you. You're nothing but a fucking bitch, who's always trying to keep me away from my daughter. MY OWN FUCKING DAUGHTER!"
"Heath...stop it...l-let go! That hurts!"
I heard Harry inhale sharply as he watched the way Heath grabbed my wrist. I could only imagine the anger he was trying so hard to bottle up inside.
"Oh, it hurts, does it?! Well, I actually think it's the least that a bitch like you deserves!"
"Heath, let me go! mean it! Just stop!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and felt my bottom lip trembling as I listened to the sounds of Heath grabbing me and throwing me against the other wall – his screaming and my desperate pleas for him to stop echoing in my ears and making me feel like they were working themselves right into the depths of my memory.
"DOES THAT HURT?! DOES IT, LEAH?!"
"Stop it! Stop it, Heath! Just stop!"
I felt a single tear seeping out of one of my eyes, and I shut my eyes tighter just to get it out – holding in the quiet sobs that were begging to come out as the tear began to slide down my cheek. However, the sound of a very familiar punch suddenly caused my eyes to shoot open – just in time to see Heath staggering away from Harry in the video – clearly moments after Harry decked him in the face.
"Get the hell out of my house!" The sound of Harry's voice liberated me and felt like music to my ears, just as much as it did when I first heard it on the day, "GET OUT!"
The last few moments of the video showed Heath holding his nose as he backed away from Harry and ran out of the living room before the footage cut off abruptly – and we were left facing a blank TV screen.
As the bailiff ejected the disc and switched off the TV, Judge Alexandra turned towards Heath with a sharp glare – and I saw him swallow fearfully.
"Well, Mr Foster?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, "What do you say to that?"
"It's fake!" I heard Danica cry out before Heath could even speak – causing Alexandra's eyebrow to rise even higher and causing Heath to shoot her a harsh look.
"Miss Herrera, please don't insult my intelligence," she told her curtly, "and my question was directed at Mr Foster, if you don't mind. So, I'd like you to keep your mouth shut for this one," she turned to Heath again, "Mr Foster? I'm waiting."
Heath sighed. "Your Honour...I don't know what else to say to you, except that it was a rare moment where I lost all control. But I can assure you that it's almost never happened before – and definitely not around my daughter."
Judge Alexandra didn't respond to him – only rolling her eyes before she turned away from him and looked at me.
"Miss Marrone," she spoke to me in a much gentler voice, "did you receive any physical scarring after this incident?"
"Er...yes, Your Honour," I replied with a nod, "our lawyer...has the pictures."
Brandon nodded as well and opened his briefcase once more – pulling out the prints of the photos I took of my injuries and holding it out to the bailiff.
"It's just a bit of bruising, and a red mark on my arm that faded away after a couple days," I continued as the bailiff took the photos and brought them to the judge.
Alexandra put on a pair of glasses before taking the photos and looking them over – causing me to bite my lip as I began to worry that the mildness of my injuries would degrade the importance of my case. So, I tapped on Brandon's shoulder and whispered in his ear – and he nodded before clearing his throat and looking up at the judge.
"Your Honour?" He addressed her, "My client would like to say something else, if she can."
"Yes, Miss Marrone," she briefly looked up at me and nodded, "you may."
"Erm...w-well..." I began to feel a little intimidated as she looked away from the photos to focus on me once more, "Your Honour...I-I know that...the injuries I received are far from severe, and are probably nothing compared to other cases you may have had over the years, but...I don't care," I tried to speak as confidently as I could, "I'm not here to gain all the pity and the sympathy, Your Honour. I'm here to protect my daughter. This incident with Heath wasn't as bad as others, and I'm grateful for that – but it does not mean that I think his temper can't get any worse than what I've already seen. And that is a risk I do not want to take – especially not with Piper."
The Judge was silent for several moments – her chin resting atop her knuckles as she took some time to think over my words. However, she eventually gave me a small smile.
"I hear you, Miss Marrone," she told me, "and...I completely agree with you."
Upon hearing her words, my breath immediately hitched.
"You do..?" I asked her hopefully.
"I do," she nodded again, "Miss Marrone, if I was in your shoes, I would be doing the exact same thing as you – standing in the exact same spot as you are at the moment," she said, "and even though you've gone through an experience such as this, you've still stood up here today and forced yourself to re-live the whole thing for the sake of your daughter. Your honesty and your bravery are to be commended."
"Oh...thank you..." I instantly felt myself smiling, "thank you so much, Your Honour."
I saw Harry smile at me as well, and I felt him give my hand a tender squeeze which instantly made my own smile grow.
"Oh, come on!" Heath narrowed his eyes, "I didn't even do anything! She said it herself – I barely even bruised her!" He then shot a piercing glare at Harry, "And what about what he did to my nose?!"
Alexandra's face hardened as she turned to Heath once more. "Mr Foster, it is very clear to me that what Mr Styles did to you was in defence of his partner. And just because you 'barely bruised' Miss Marrone, it does not mean that your behaviour will be taken lightly in this court. In fact, if I were you, I'd even consider myself lucky that Mr Styles stepped in when he did – before anything got worse," she narrowed her eyes at him, "that video footage showed me that your behaviour can be harmful, and I refuse to let a young child remain unsupervised around you – knowing that your temper can reach a level like that, and possibly something even more dangerous if your nerves are tested enough," she looked back at me, "Miss Marrone, Mr Styles, your request for Mr Foster to have supervised visitation with your daughter will be granted by this court."
As soon as those words left her mouth, the first thing both me & Harry did was let out the biggest gasps – and I could feel my heart thundering inside my chest as I silently rejoiced at Alexandra's words.
"What?!" Heath's voice broke right through my blissful relief, "No way! She's not even his daughter!" He angrily pointed at Harry.
"Be quiet, Mr Foster," the judge snapped at him, "you will be able to spend time with your daughter on Saturdays. Your time together will be monitored by a professional supervisor, and will take place in a designated visitation facility. You can spend the day together, but you must bring her back to her mother before it gets dark," she said, "and you won't be able to request this court – or any other court – for unsupervised time with your child until at least a year has passed."
"This is ridiculous!" Heath protested.
"Miss Marrone," Alexandra ignored Heath and turned back to me, "you are also granted sole custody of your daughter."
"Oh my God..." her words were making feel as if this huge stone that had been sitting on my chest and crushing me was finally being lifted off, "Your Honour...th-thank you so much."
"It's my pleasure," she smiled at me before she picked up her gavel, "this court is adjourned."
She banged the gavel against her countertop – signifying the end of the case. And the first thing I did was hold my hand over my thundering heart and let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Leah..." Harry had the brightest smile on his face as he looked at me, "baby, we did it."
"I...I can't believe it..." I spoke softly as he took my hands and pulled me close to him, "we...we really won..?"
"We really won," Harry's smile grew even bigger, "I knew we would."
I let out a little squeal and threw my arms around him – making him laugh as he lifted me off the ground and hugged me tight.
"We got her, love," he murmured to me, "she's safe with us."
I let out a giggle as he kissed my forehead. "I should've known you'd be right all along."
"My warmest congratulations to you both," Brandon told us after we pulled away, "your victory is one well-deserved."
"Oh, Brandon..." I smiled at him, "we really couldn't have done it without you."
"Definitely not," Harry gave Brandon's hand a warm shake, "thank you so much."
"Oh, it was nothing. Just another day at the office, really," he replied with a chuckle, "anyway, I'm sure you two would like a moment alone to celebrate your success. I'll see you back in the foyer."
"Sure thing, boss," I replied cheekily – causing him to chuckle once more before he collected his papers, closed his briefcase and left the table.
"Oh my God, Harry..." I fanned myself a little, "th-this is amazing..."
"I know," Harry broke out a beaming smile, "I think I'm...still trying to register it, actually."
"Me too!" I laughed, "Shit...we should go out somewhere to celebrate, or something!"
Harry's smile grew. "You know what? Great idea. Name a time and a place, baby – I'll book the whole place out so that it's just the three of us. I'm gonna spoil my girls with a dinner fit for royalty."
"OK, OK – let's not get carried away," I giggled, "you don't need to spend that much money."
"I know," Harry grinned, "but I'm just so fucking happy."
I beamed back at him, and we both shared a long, tender kiss before we hugged each other tightly once again.
However, we were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat behind us – causing us to pull away and turn in the direction of the noise. And my eyes immediately widened once I realized that it was actually Heath – crossing his arms and glaring at both of us.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're rejoicing. You can't make it any more fucking obvious," he spat.
My face hardened, and I felt Harry tensing up – but before either of us could say anything, Heath spoke up once again.
"You really think that just because you won, you can just go off and play your little game of Happy Families?" He scowled at us, "You really think I'll just accept seeing my kid for one fucking day each week?!"
"You should just feel lucky that you still get to see her at all," Harry told him curtly.
"You shut the fuck up, asshole!" Heath prodded Harry's chest, "I said this before, and I'll say it again: you are not my daughter's father, and you will never be my daughter's father! Not even this stupid verdict makes you her father! And you need to stop fucking pretending that you are!"
"You can say that shit all you want, Heath," Harry told him through gritted teeth, "but it won't do anything to change how much I love her, and it won't do anything to change how happy I am that she's safe with me and Leah."
"She doesn't fucking need to be safe! Not from me!" He snapped, "This isn't over, Leah. This is far from over," he shot me a sharp glare, "you're gonna get what's coming to you, bitch."
"Do not, call her that," Harry glowered at him, "you know I'm not afraid to box you again, mate."
Heath began to look startled, but I saw him force himself to shake out of it before he let out a scoff.
"Oh, shut up," he rolled his eyes, "dickhead."
Before either of us could say another word, he turned around and stormed off – leaving Harry & I alone once more.
"I...I'm so sorry, Harry..." was the first thing I felt obliged to say.
"Don't apologize. He's just a prick," Harry rolled his eyes before he took my hand, "come on, love. Let's just go home."
***
"Oh, thank God Ashley and Aidan were here to look after Piper today," I told Harry as we put the last of the dishes away, "I still can't believe how long that hearing took."
"I know," Harry sighed, "but it earned us Piper, so...I'd say it was worth every second."
"Yeah...that's true," I smiled a little, "but...speaking of the hearing..." I bit my lip, "I guess we should...tell her what's gonna be happening from now on. You know – with Heath?"
"Yeah...I guess you're right," Harry sighed again, "how do you think she'll react to it?"
"I have no idea," I admitted, "but...I guess we'll see."
Harry nodded at me before he made his way back to the living room where Piper was watching the last of her late afternoon shows, with me following close behind.
"Piper?" Harry spoke up first, "Love, come sit with us for a minute. We need to talk to you."
Piper looked back at us. "About what?"
"Just come, Piper," I spoke next – taking the remote and switching off the TV, "it'll only be for a minute."
"OK, mummy," Piper got up off the floor and made her way towards us.
Harry & I sat down on the sofa, and Piper climbed up and wedged herself in between us – looking up at us and waiting for us to speak.
"Darling, there's going to be a few changes about how much time you'll be spending with your dad," I started off the talk.
"What changes?" asked Piper, "Don't I have to see him anymore?"
"Oh no, Piper – of course you can still see him," Harry told her, "you'll just...be spending a shorter amount of time together during the weekends."
"How much shorter?" asked Piper.
"Only on Saturdays, bubba," I replied, "and no more going to dad's house. You'll be going to a different type of place together from now on...but it'll still be a fun place, we promise."
"So...I don't have to sleep at daddy's house anymore?" she looked up at me.
"No, darling," I shook my head, "no more sleeping at dad's house. You'll be sleeping here every night now."
"Oh, good!" Piper broke out a smile, "My room at daddy's house is boring. I like my room here better!" she then turned serious again, "But...where's this other place that we're gonna go?"
"Oh, it's...it's a little hard to explain, love," Harry told her, "but, you two will still be able to have fun together – because that's why places like that are built."
"And...sweetheart?" I spoke up again, "While you and your dad spend time together...there's gonna be someone else in the room with you. Someone that...you've never met before."
"Huh?" Piper sounded confused, "Why does there have to be someone else in the room?"
"Er..." Harry bit his lip, "because...it's just their job, Piper. It's kind of gonna be like how your teachers at kindy watched you play all the time – because that was their job."
"Ohhh...OK," Piper nodded, "but wait...do I still have to see Danica?"
"Erm..." I began to shake my head again, "I don't think you have to, no."
A bright smile appeared on Piper's face once more. "Yay!"
"What?" Harry laughed, "Piper, don't you like Danica?"
"No!" She responded without hesitation, "I don't like Danica, because she's boring! She doesn't even play with me!"
"Aw, pumpkin," I chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head, "nevermind. You shouldn't have to see her again for a very long time, anyway."
"Good!" Piper huffed in satisfaction – causing both me and Harry to break out amused smiles.
"So...you're OK with this, Piper?" Harry turned serious again, "You're OK with not seeing your dad as often as you used to?"
"Yes, daddy!" Piper grinned and nodded, "I like to see him, but I like to see you and mummy even more!"
Harry smiled back at her. "OK. That's good, Piper. Your mother & I are very happy to hear that."
"We are," I smiled at her as well, "OK, darling. That's all we wanted to talk to you about. You can keep watching your shows now. Tea will be ready soon."
"OK, mummy!" Piper replied happily – immediately crawling off the couch to sit back on the floor once I switched the TV back on.
I instantly let out a soft sigh of relief upon seeing how happy she was with the new arrangements.
Thank God for that.
***
"I'm so glad that Piper's OK with the changes," I told Harry as he came out of the en suite, "I was afraid she'd be more defensive about seeing less of Heath."
"Yeah. He is her dad, after all," Harry said as he climbed into bed beside me, "but...I guess we both overestimated her reaction."
"I guess so..." I began to frown a little, "it's just...it's weird, though. From what I've seen, it always looked like Piper enjoyed spending time with Heath, but...despite all that, it's like they still haven't even scratched the surface of how deep their bond could become. It just...it makes me wonder if...if Piper actually loves Heath at all..." I bit my lip, "she's never said that she does, and I've never really felt comfortable with asking her straight-out."
"I know what you mean," Harry said, "the way she shows affection towards him is nothing compared to the way she shows it towards you, babe."
"Or you," I added, "it's almost like...it's almost like she doesn't even see Heath as a parent. It looks more like she sees him as some sort of playmate, or...someone she can just be friendly to."
"Yeah, but...that's probably for the best, actually," Harry slid his legs under the sheets and shuffled a bit closer to me, "I mean...he's not exactly the Father of the Year, after all."
"No. No, he isn't..." I rested my forehead in my hand and sighed, "you know, I do admit that, before all this court hearing shit happened, he was a lot better at taking care of her than he was when he first came back into our lives. But...these days, I feel like all the things he's done wrong is really starting to outweigh the things he's done right..." I shook my head, "I mean, even use what happened most recently as an example. It's bad enough that he and Danica started having sex when Piper was just next door, but then he goes on to try and convince her to stay silent about what she saw, knowing how uncomfortable it must've made her?"
"I know, Leah, I know," Harry shook his head as well, "it's a really shitty thing to try and make her keep something that made her so uncomfortable to herself."
I nodded in agreement. "Sometimes I just feel like...he doesn't really think about Piper. If he was, then he wouldn't have tried to make her push through that discomfort just so he didn't have to get an earful from me. If he's willing to do something like that, then it really is for the best – what happened in court today."
"Definitely," Harry replied without hesitation.
"And plus, he...he really did give me a scare today, with what he said..." I lowered my eyes a little, "'you're gonna get what's coming to you'...I-I don't even know what that means..."
"Hey, hey," Harry immediately took me by the waist and pulled me close to him, "baby, don't even think about that. He was just trying to intimidate you."
"Well, it worked," I shook my head and sighed, "he's...not gonna let this slide, is he? He's just gonna keep fighting until things go back to the way they were," I sighed, "it's times like these when I wish I never asked him to become a part of Piper's life again. Sometimes I just...get this feeling that he's...not fighting for her for the right reasons."
"What?" Harry frowned a little, "Leah, what do you mean?"
"I don't know, exactly," I admitted, "but, at times, it almost seems like...like he only wants to spend time with her just because he knows he has a right to it. I don't always feel like his intentions are purely out of love for her. I mean, he cares about her, I'm sure – but...I just..." I sighed and shook my head, "ugh, I don't know what I'm saying..." I rubbed my eyes stressfully, "sorry. Just forget I said anything."
"No, I kind of get what you're saying," said Harry, "if he's not in it for the right reasons, then he is definitely not the ideal caregiver for Piper."
"Exactly," I nodded vigorously, "I don't know, Harry. I just wish Heath was more like you. She's not even yours, but you're still a better father to her than he'll ever be."
Harry gave me a soft smile. "Look, Leah...while we're on this subject, I...I want to talk to you about something that's...that's been on my mind for quite a while now, actually."
"OK," I replied with another nod, "what is it?"
"Er...well..." Harry bit his lip, "Leah, all that drama and stress we went through trying to organize that court hearing...it really got me thinking," he began, "I...completely agree with you when you say that Piper deserves a much better father than Heath. And...I also agree with the fact that he probably won't stop bothering us until he's got her back – which will cause even more drama and stress," I detected a hint of nervousness in his voice, "and you...you know how much I love that girl, Leah."
"Yeah, 'course I do," I smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze, "and I know how much she loves you."
Harry smiled back at me, but the nervous tension in his face didn't seem to fade at all.
"Leah...I just want you to know that I'm thinking about this in the long-term. Not to happen straight away," he told me.
"Thinking about what?" I asked him, "Harry?"
Harry was silent for a long time, and I heard him take a deep breath before he took both my hands in his and lowered his eyes a little – looking as if he was thinking hard what to say next, and how to say it. But finally, after several moments, he spoke again.
"Leah...would you let me adopt her?" He looked right into my eyes, "Would you let me adopt Piper?"
A/N: Well...this could go down in a number of ways. xD Also I got lazy with my editing (as I usually do lol) so sorry for any typos I missed :p
But lol guys there is a pre-schooler in the kindergarten I volunteer at that looks exactly like how I envision Piper (her name isn't Piper though - in case you were wondering). I swear I'm seeing Pipers everywhere lmao
I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter <3 I love you xx