Nick walked out of the bathroom and spotted Lanie standing in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. He watched her for a few minutes before making his presence known. She was beautiful. There was no denying that. And she was good for him. When she arrived in New York a few days ago, he broke down in front of her, not knowing how to tell her about Aidan. And about Katelin. But as soon as she knew everything, Lanie was nothing less than completely understanding. As surprised as she was to hear the news, she vowed to stand by him through everything. And first, that meant the custody hearing that they would be attending this morning.
“You almost ready?” Nick finally broke the silence. “I don’t think it would be smart for us to be late.”
“Yup.” Lanie put the hairbrush on the dresser. “Let me just grab my purse.”
Nick picked it up off of the bed and handed it to her. “Thanks.” She smiled. She grabbed on to his arm to stop him and stared in to his eyes. “Calm down, Nicky. I know you’re nervous but I have a good feeling about today.”
Nick smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you Lane.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Krista walked into the courtroom, spotting Katelin and Adrienne sitting nervously in the gallery. “Hey,” she said, softly, as she approached them. They both turned to look at her, offering small smiles, as they scooted over to make room for her. “How you holding up?”
Katelin shrugged, not taking her eyes off of the front of the courtroom. “I don’t know. He’s not going to like that I’m here.”
“Screw him, Kate,” Krista remarked, harshly. “This is your child too. He really doesn’t have that much of a choice.”
Katelin finally tore her eyes away from whatever she was staring at and looked at Krista. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Krista asked, confused.
“For being there,” Katelin replied. “For being a friend.”
Krista wrapped her arms around Katelin’s neck. “There’s nowhere else I’d be, Kate.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Lanie and Nick met Nick’s lawyer, Jeff, out in the hallway of the courthouse. Nick was a visible nervous wreck. He had yet to even meet Aidan, and here he was, at a hearing to decide his fate. Would he get to be a father to the son he’d never met? Or would he continue to never know his own flesh and blood?
“I’ve got to warn you about something, Nick,” Jeff began, nervously. He knew that his client was not going to be thrilled with the news.
“What is it?” Nick questioned.
“I called Miss Taylor,” Jeff explained. “I thought it was best that she be here.”
“What?!” Nick exclaimed. “Damnit, Jeff. I thought we went over this.”
“Calm down, Nick,” Lanie admonished, quietly. “People are staring.”
“I don’t care, Lanie.” Nick glared at her. “I already explained this to both of you. She’s going to have nothing to do with Aidan.”
“She’s his mother, Nick,” Lanie said, softly.
“Lanie…” Nick began.
“She’s right, Nick,” Jeff interrupted. “It is going to look so much better for you if you have the biological mother sitting on your side. No judge will deny custody to the biological parents.”
“Fine,” Nick huffed. “Let’s just get this over with. I would like to meet my son.” He walked towards the doors to the courtroom, Lanie and Jeff hot on his heels. Nick spotted the back of Katelin’s head and froze in his tracks. Lanie noticed what he was staring at and, instinctively, grabbed his hand. Nick looked down at her and she smiled reassuringly.
Krista happened to be turning around in her seat to glance at the clock over the door when Nick, Lanie, and Jeff entered the courtroom. She locked eyes with Nick and gave him a slight smile. Katelin had told her what Nick had said to her the other day, and, while she was furious, she didn’t want Nick to lose custody of Aidan to his adoptive grandparents.
Katelin was about to say something to Krista when she noticed who she was looking at. She looked up and locked eyes with Nick. His blue eyes were cold. She could clearly sense the animosity he held for her just in that simple gaze. Trying to hold back her tears, she dropped her eyes and turned around. It hurt to have him look at her like that. It hurt to see him with the girl that he was clearly in love with. It hurt to know that he was going to keep her away from her son.