86 Judgment day
Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title: #86 Judgment day
Rating: PG
Summary: “Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Previously on As The World Keeps Turning:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20
#21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #51 #52 #53 #54 #55 #56 #57 #58 #59 #60 #61 #62 #63 #64 #65 #66 #67 #68 #69 #70 #71 #72 #73 #74 #75 #76 #77 #78 #79 #80 #81 #82 #83 #84 #85
When he parked his car, he immediately recognized Holden’s truck and he also understood the significance of it. Luke had borrowed it, so they could go tree-shopping after their meeting with the judge. It was an act of confidence and Reid liked that. He entered the courthouse smiling. Until he saw the woman in front of him.
There was one small comfort. She wasn’t happy to see him either.
“Dr. Oliver.”
He actually remembered her name.
“Mrs. Smith. On your way out?”
“I am. I shared my findings with the judge and I was not requested at the meeting.”
“I see.” Reid was actually happy she wouldn’t be there, but he didn’t feel a need to share that. He didn’t want to jeopardize their chances by speaking his mind. Yeah, he was getting good at this.
He was ready to go his way, but the woman touched his arm.
“How’s Danny?”
Reid looked her in the eye and saw genuine interest and caring, so he gave her a quick smile.
“He cries a lot, he sleeps a lot, he eats a lot and he starts to smile a lot.”
Mrs. Smith nodded. “That’s good to hear.”
Without further greeting, she turned and walked away. For a moment Reid watched her leave, but then quickly made his way to the judge’s chamber.
He was on time. Luke and Danny were waiting in the hallway, while Tom Hughes was standing a few feet away, talking on the phone. The lawyer raised his hand in a greeting and Reid nodded, but then his full attention was for the two blonds.
The moment he squatted, Danny came up to him and put his arms around Reid’s neck. Without touching the boy’s tender back, Reid came up and held the child close to him. He ruffled Luke’s hair and leaned in for a kiss.
“Hi guys,” Reid’s smile was loving. “All ready for the big talk?”
Luke gave him a nod, softly squeezing Reid’s chin. “Now I am…”
When Reid put his arm around Luke, he noticed someone looking at them and he recognized the face immediately. Oh no, not him. Maybe he wouldn’t remember him, Reid prayed in silence. No such luck. The man approached them, shook his hand and gave him a telling smile.
“Dr. Oliver. It’s been a while.”
“It is, Your honor,” Reid tried to smile as friendly as possible, “I’ve been on my best behavior…”
Judge Curt Jessup didn’t respond, but turned to Luke and Tom. He motioned to the open door. “Please, come in.”
When Reid walked past him, he could see the judge watching Danny - still in Reid’s arms - but he didn’t approach him and walked to his chair. After pointing at the chairs on the other side of the table, they all sat down.
Although Danny was a little reluctant to let go of Reid, he took a seat next to Luke and Reid sat down next to Danny. He smiled when he saw Luke pull out the panda and Danny’s face light up when he accepted the stuffed animal and held it close. It obviously calmed him down and Reid gave Luke a telling nod. Smart thinking.
Looking up he noticed the judge watching them again, but the neutral face wasn’t giving away any of the man’s thoughts. It made Reid more nervous than he was willing to admit.
“So gentlemen,” Judge Jessup sounded friendly enough, while opening the file in front of him. “Thank you for joining me. This case intrigues me on many levels, so I’m glad you made yourself available on such short notice. I understand you both have demanding jobs…”
“We do, but at the end of the day it is just a job. Danny will always take precedence,” Luke stated calmly, making Reid smile a little. Good response.
Obviously the judge thought so too. He nodded with a friendly smile.
“Good,” he watched Danny fidgeting with the panda, “So how have these last few days been? As I understand, your decision to offer this young man a home was a spur of the moment thing.”
“It was,” Reid agreed. “But we both felt an immediate connection with Danny and for some reason we just knew this was the only right choice to make.”
Unconsciously Reid’s eyes wandered to the boy next to him and he smiled, watching him.
The judge had folded his hands in front of him and turned to Luke.
“And no regrets?”
“None,” Luke beamed. “It hasn’t been easy, but having Danny with us already feels like the most natural thing in the world. He belongs with us. We really feel that way.”
Judge Jessup nodded. “It shows,” he softly said, then cleared his voice.
“Danny, I’d like to talk to you alone for a minute. So if…”
He stopped when he saw the pure panic on the boy’s face and Danny’s whole body language was screaming fear. The child turned to Reid, who was already moving back his chair, and he threw his little arms around the strong neck before Reid could get up.
“He’s very traumatized,” Luke whispered almost apologetically, but the judge waved away the excuse.
“I didn’t realize how much…” Judge Jessup bit his lip, “I’m sorry for upsetting him.”
He watched how Reid calmed the boy down with a soft voice. Something struck him even more, though. Not once did Reid tell the boy not to feel scared or ‘to behave’. It showed a kind of respect Judge Jessup didn’t often see in this court house.
“The judge just wants to ask you a few things,” Reid explained. “Can you answer them?”
The boy nodded and turned a little so he could look at the judge. The older man smiled. “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said friendly, “and I won’t ask anybody to leave. Okay?”
Danny nodded again, smiling at Luke when the older blond handed him his panda.
“I’ve seen pictures of your back, Danny,” the judge continued on a calm tone of voice. “Do you want to talk about that?”
The boy shook his head, pain in his eyes.
“That’s okay,” Curt Jessup assured him, “You like your new home?”
The change in the child’s face was almost overwhelming. The brown eyes began to shine and his whole body started to relax.
“Yeah. I’m safe now.”
Reid saw Luke tear up and he had to swallow too. Their eyes met and sent each other a quick ‘I love you’.
“I’m very glad to hear that,” the judge nodded. “What do you like about them?”
Danny grinned and pointed at Luke. “That. The way they look at each other. And smile. They always smile at each other. And at me. They smile at me a lot too. And I can watch TV. And Luke cooks nice food. And Luke has a grandmother who smells like cookies. And horses…”
“She smells like horses?” the judge teased and Danny giggled.
“No…they have horses. On the farm. And Handsome was hit a lot. Just like me. But Luke’s father took good care of him and now he’s all shiny.”
For a moment Danny reminded Luke of Ethan, all chatty and enthusiastic, and it filled his heart with gratitude. Even if the worst-case scenario would become a reality and this judge would not allow Danny to stay with them, at least the boy would have had some love and joy in his life. Maybe that would help him through.
The judge smiled and turned to the adults again.
“Tom Hughes informed me that you hired a home tutor…”
“We did. At Danny’s request…” Luke smiled at the boy. “At least for this school year. We’ll evaluate next year if he still prefers homeschooling.”
The judge nodded, making another note in the file.
“Okay,” he leaned back and he saw the tension on all the adult faces, so he smiled.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you both love this boy very much and that that feeling is mutual.”
There was this big BUT hanging above the table and Reid gave Luke a quick look. The judge noticed and made a calming hand movement.
“But what pleases me even more is the respect you’re showing each other and this little boy. I don’t witness that very often and it warms my heart.”
He tapped on his file.
“But...before our meeting, I had a talk with Mrs. Smith and she came up with some disturbing facts, though."
He tapped the file again.
" I already knew you’ll be Chief of Staff at Memorial very soon,” Curt Jessup glanced at Reid, “and you’re also running the new Neuro wing. So it’s safe to conclude that most of the parenting will have to come from you, Mr. Snyder. But with your alcohol- and health issues, you’re considered to be a risk factor.”
Luke paled and Tom Hughes popped up a little. “But Your honor…”
“Sttt….” Judge Jessup raised his hand to silence the lawyer. “Let me finish.”
He focused on the file again and avoided looking at the men in front of him.
This isn’t good, Reid thought, while slight panic started to creep in.
“So Mrs. Smith assured me she could find Danny a better home…” The judge moved some papers in the file, “but I happen to disagree.”
He could see it took a moment for his words to sink in, but then Luke and Reid looked up at him and he saw a small smile on Tom Hughes’ face.
“Especially because we all know how Mrs. Smith feels about same sex relationships.” The judge looked absolutely wicked for a moment.
“But apart from that, it’s my job to make sure that Danny’s future will be a happy and safe one and seeing the three of you interact gives me all the confirmation I needed.”
He smiled at Reid. “To be honest, doctor… I didn’t know you had it in you.”
The adults laughed.
“I didn’t know either,” Reid replied in all honesty, smiling at Luke who moved up a chair and leaned in for a group hug.
“So Mr. Hughes and I will take care of all the paperwork…” The judge walked up to them and shook their hands, “And I will clear things with Child Services. Danny has been through more than enough, so I won’t allow any more tugs-of-war over this. I hope the three of you will have a great Christmas.”
That word made Danny look up at him.
“I can stay until Christmas?”
The judge slowly approached the boy with his hand and softly patted Danny’s head.
“And then some...” the man smiled. “You found yourself a new home, Danny.”
“I can really stay?” he looked at Reid and Luke in disbelief and started crying when both men gave him a nod.
“We’re a family now,” Luke whispered, standing next to Reid with one arm around the doctor’s shoulder and one hand on Danny’s neck.
Reid gasped at the word. For a moment it felt like a out-of-body experience. Seeing himself, embraced by love. His family.
Tom Hughes pulled him back into the now by shaking his hand.
“You see, Dr. Oliver, we’re not all idiots in this town,” he teased and Reid grinned.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am about that,” he snorted. “Thanks for everything.”
“Doing my job,” Tom smiled, “I’m happy I could help. Danny deserves the best and now he has it.”
After the judge and the lawyer left the room, the new family just looked at each other. A little in shock, overwhelmed and very happy.
“So guys, how about it…” when Reid rose to his feet, Danny simply hung on and Reid softly tapped the boy’s bottom, pushing him to his chest, “…let get ourselves a Christmas tree.”