On The Outside: By Amy

Ch.13
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"Try to be polite and quiet," Nick Carter suggested to AJ McLean beneath his breath as their assigned social worker guided them inside the small courthouse.

"Why?" AJ asked, trailing behind the regal employee of the state.

"Cause when you act real good the social worker will try harder to get you put with a better family," the blonde explained simply.

"Sit here," the social worker demanded, pointing to two empty seats in the vacant hallway. "All right," she said, pressing on a forced smile. "You both sit quietly while I go get the judge that'll be looking over your cases before you are placed with families out-of-town."

"You mean before you rip us away from the only people that give a damn about us," AJ corrected, speaking through his teeth.

The woman's gray eyes narrowed as she ran a steady hand through her short blonde hair. "Fine, if you wish to look at it that way, Mr. McLean, go right ahead. However, I feel the need to inform you that you would be doing everyone, including yourself, a big favor by corroborating."

AJ crossed his arms as he leaned back in the wooden chair, unable to conceal his true emotions. "I am corroborating, I'm just not trying to sugarcoat everything like you are, lady."

"Alexander, must I remind you that my name is Ms. Lorn and I would like you to remember it?"

"Why?" AJ challenged. "You won't remember our names once you ship us off to a new 'family' as you call them. Why the hell should we bother remembering you?"

The woman turned away, lifting her nose in the air as she departed.

Nick visibly winced as he listened to the loud sound echoing off the walls as she stormed away, her red high heels clicking against the hard floor. "You shouldn't have done that, AJ!" he exclaimed. "Now, she won't even try to help us."

"Like she was going to anyway," AJ shot back.

"You never know," Nick meekly retorted. "Maybe she really does want to help us."

"Oh, Nick, you can't honestly be that ignorant," AJ groaned, rolling his dark eyes. "We both know that lady don't really care about us. She's only helping us because that's what she gets paid to do. Face it, the fairy tale's over. There are no happy endings for us." The young rebel fought away the guilt that tugged at his heart as he glanced down at the sad blonde. "At least right know we got each other. It was easier goin' through all this with you than bein' by myself. You've really helped me through a real tough time."

"You mean that?" Nick inquired with a smile, beaming with uncharacteristic hope.

"Sure," AJ replied. "But, if you tell anybody that I admitted that you're not a little runt...I'd have to kick your butt," he informed the orphan, with mock authority, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I won't tell," Nick promised, discretely crossing his fingers behind his back.

The thirteen-year-old became silent, intensely studying his new surroundings. Staring at the plain brick walls, then diverting his gaze to the hard tile floor splashed with various specks of color. Cautiously, he permitted his sad eyes to peer at the wooden doors. Doors containing large glass windows that allowed him to stare into the world beyond his captive space. A world that he longed to be part of. He squinted, taking in the sight of a young boy trotting along at his mother's side.

Inside his heart ached at the memory, knowing that the same feeling of safety and a mother's love would never again find him. He wished to step outside and find someone waiting for him. A person to take him away from the hurt and pain that been his long-time companion, allowing love and understanding to replace the sordid emotions that lingered within his soul.

A sigh parted from his pale lips as his daydreaming ended. His ears were once again met with the sound of the Ms. Lorn's clicking high heel shoes and reality replaced his juvenile fantasy. Sadly, he lifted his head, staring up at the social worker and the new

employee.

"Boys," the gray-eyed woman announced emotionlessly as she approached them. "This is Judge Topper and she will also be working on your cases. So, you'll need to act as young adults in order to get decisions made quickly." She pressed her thin lips together as she looked in AJ's direction. "And, Mr. McLean, you are to refer to her as Judge Topper."

"Why don't you two just call me Paige?" the judge suggested, her kind hazel eyes involuntary squinting as she offered them a geniune smile. "Would both of you like to come into my office? It's much nicer than this drafty hallway."

AJ shrugged, pulling himself into a standing position. "We might as well. It's probably the last decent place we'll be in for a while, anyway. Come on, Nick," he instructed, lifting the younger male to his feet.

Carter slowly followed behind the small crowd, nervously exchanging glances from each person. He wanted to accept the judge's kindess, but found it hard to lend his trust once again. He retreated to his routine silence, refusing to believe any miracles were secretly in store for him.

AJ pushed his shoulders back, commanding himself to remain strong as he trailed behind the employees. Silently, he stepped into the judge's office, observing the condition of the tiny space. The walls were decorated with bright colors, the blue carpet newly vacuumed and desk made from oak sitting sideways in middle of the room. His brown eyes narrowed as he gazed at the pictures neatly placed over the wooden table, nicely framed and bearing images of the professional woman and many young children. A genuine smile lined her lips as she held the children in her arms, hugging them tightly. A slight feeling of jealousy flashed over him as he stared at the fortunate kids, wondering why he couldn't have been one of them.

"These your kids?" McLean queried tersely, throwing a rough gesture toward the photos.

"Oh, no," Judge Topper answered, seating herself behind the desk. "These are pictures of children I've met through my years practicing here that I've been able to help."

"You mean actually want to help kids?" Nick Carter blurted out, peering at the employee in amazement.

"Of course," Paige Topper responded with ease. "Why would you think that I wouldn't want to help children? I became a judge to help people, Nick."

"Then, you're the only one that did," he informed her, bluntly.

The judge's forehead arched in concern as she listened to the young man's truthful comment. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Carter," she told him with sincerity lacing her tone.

"You've both bothered Judge Topper with enough questions and comments," the social worker interjected. "It's time to get to business. You both want homes, don't you?"

"We have homes," AJ spat. "Or at least we did until you barged in and took us away."

"Quit blaming me," Ms. Lorn demanded. "You know it wasn't my fault that you had to be removed from Mr. Dorough's home. You shouldn't have even been living there in the first place."

"Oh, yeah?" the distraught teen mocked. "Should I have been living with my uncle? A damn murderer! You know, I almost wish I had been! Maybe then he would've killed me instead of Kit. Then, I wouldn't in this mess and I could be with my mom again."

"Mr. McLean, calm yourself down this minute!" Lorn harshly commanded. "Your little performance isn't helping anyone."

"Why don't you shut up?" Nick suddenly suggested, unable to control the bitter emotions that escaped from his voice. "We both know you hate us, lady."

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" Ms. Lorn gasped, dramatically bringing her hand to her chest.

"Everyone just calm down," Judge Topper intervened. "Now, let's discuss this rationally. You should both be happy today," she said with a smile. "Leaving this town may be the best thing for you. You could meet new people and start new lives for yourselves."

"We'll be together?" Nick questioned, his blue eyes brightening with hope.

Mrs. Topper's cheerful _expression soon vanished. "Well, Nickolas, I'm afraid not," she sadly informed him. "You see, in this system we fight very hard to keep children together, but normally those children are siblings. You and AJ aren't even related."

"You can't even keep families together," Nick stated, evenly. "You couldn't keep me and brother and sisters together."

The judge sighed, hating herself for the information she was about to deliver to the youth. "Nick, you came from a very big family. It's practically impossible to keep five children together. I'm sorry that we weren't able to help you, but as you know, your siblings were adopted. Maybe now if you'd corroborate with procedure you could be as lucky."

"But that would mean not running away," Ms. Lorn commented, speaking shrewdly.

The judge opened her mouth once again to speak but was silenced as a loud, booming sound seeped into the room as an outside party began knocking on the door.

"Come in!" she called, resting her hands against the desktop.

"HOWIE!" AJ exclaimed, standing upright as he watched the Latino enter through the doorway.

Nick Carter fidgeted in his seat, biting his lip nervously as he watched the heartfelt reunion. His jaw dropped as he watched Kevin and Brian brust into the room.

"Oh my God, AJ, are you okay?" Howie pondered, embracing the teen.

"Nick, I missed ya'," Brian admitted, wrapping his arms around the young blonde.

"Excuse me!" Ms. Lorn shouted over the welcome greetings, glaring at the strangers. "Just what are you three doing here? You're only going to make things worse."

"It seems to me you're the only person that has made things worse," Kevin commented, keeping his voice steady as he locked eyes with the business-minded social worker.

"Gentlemen, would you kindly tell me what your purpose is here?" Paige Topper requested.

"We came to help out Nick and AJ," Brian answered, ruffling the thirteen-year-old's unruly mane.

"Yes," Kevin continued, "we don't want to see them put into foster care."

"Boys," the judge sighed, "I think what you're trying to do is very admirable, however, I do not feel it is logical."

"Nothing that has happened the passed few days has been logical," Kevin retorted. "No one could have expected any of this to happen, ma'am."

"I agree with you, Mr?"

"Richardson," Kevin filled in.

"Mr. Richardson," the judge proceeded, "I understand that you took Nickolas into your home and got him off the streets, and I know Mr. Dorough removed AJ from a very dangerous environment. I commend you for that, but I do not see how I could allow these children to stay in your care. Are either of you old enough to even become a foster parent?"

"I am!" Kevin proclaimed, pulling out some wrinkled papers from his jacket pocket. "I'm twenty-one-years old and that's old enough in this state."

The judge guided a pair of wire-framed glasses over the bridge of her nose, reading the documents the man possessed. "Mr. Richardson, these items prove that you have applied but do not show that you have been approved. I'm sorry, but this will not be enough to allow Nick to go into your custody."

"Then, what else do I have to do?" Kevin pleaded. "Tell me and I'll hurry it along."

"I don't think you're following what I'm trying to tell you," Mrs. Topper replied. "Kevin, you would not make a reasonable choice as a foster parent. You're very young and you wouldn't have much time to dedicate to Nick. Your income also isn't enough to support yourself along with two growing teenagers."

"But Brian stays with me and I was allowed to be his guardian," Kevin reminded her. "And aren't foster parents given a little money to help pay for things?" he wondered.

Judge Topper nodded. "Yes, but the amount isn't substantial. I regret to tell you that there is simply no way it would enough when added into your income to support yourself along with Brian and Nickolas."

"AJ too," Kevin added, glancing down at the named teen. "He'd come with us too. He had been staying with Howie, but he's too young to be a foster parent. So, if he'd stay with me he'd get to see Howie anytime he wanted."

"Kevin, I believe you and Howie are remarkable young men," she told him, honestly. "However, you are not equipped to attempt to raise teenagers. You're both lucky you didn't wind up in trouble due to the living arrangements you had created, but, due to the unique details lying in this situation, some legal matters that been overlooked. I'm afraid that's as far as the leniency goes."

"Perhaps Mr. McLean would benefit from leaving this area as well as Mr. Carter," the domineering social worker propounded. "Alexander obviously has an attitude problem and Nickolas has a terrible tendency of running away from his foster families in the past."

"Maybe that's your fault," Brian accused, glaring at the snobbish woman. "If you had been paying attention you'd see that AJ hasn't said one rude thing or made one ornery gesture once Howie got in here. They've practically become brothers after everything they've gone through together. You should be thanking Howie! He took AJ out a murderer's home that you put him in. And as for Nick, he hasn't run away from every family. He didn't run away from me and Kev, he only ran away from every family you put him in."

The judge massaged her brow in despair. "Yes, Nick stayed with you, but you didn't stay with Nick. Mr. Richardson told the child to go with the social worker. How could I release him to your custody when you hadn't been dependent?"

"Look, I'm not trying to justify my actions," Kevin admitted, his _expression clearly showing his remorse. "I'm only trying to make a bad situation better. Within days all of us have lost someone dear to us, and now you're trying to take away even more people that we care about."

"Ma'am?" Howie Dorough called out weakly, looking at the judge nervously. "May I say something?"

"Go ahead," Paige Topper granted.

"Legally- we may not be a family, biologically-we don't share the same DNA, but as far as emotions go- we are a family. We stand up for one another, we get angry and we make mistakes. Now, we're trying to make up for those mistakes and keep the only good thing we have in our lives."

Howie paused, drawing in a raspy deep breath before continuing. "Before AJ's mother died I promised I would help him whenever I could and I've proven that I can. We've been able to support ourselves, even if we don't live in the most fabulous town on earth. He needs me right now and I need him, because when you're truly a family, not a big group slammed together by the government, you don't your back on them. AJ is going through a very hard time. He lost a friend and later found out that his uncle was the man that took that friend's life. If you people really knew him, you'd know that he's been hating himself lately, wondering if he is going to turn out like his uncle. Because I know the real Alexander McLean, I know that could never happen. He's not a rude teenager, he's a sensitive kid that's had a tough life and right now, more than ever he needs a real family. That's who we are, your Honor."

The judge's eyes displayed sympathy for the group of young men as she spoke. "Mr.Dorough, your words are very touching, but you also brought up a good point. This town isn't a great environment for these boys to be in. The rest of you know that all too well."

"With all due respect, ma'am," Kevin interrupted, "a town doesn't make a home. Someone special taught Nick and I the true definition of the word 'home'," Kevin said softly, wrapping his arm around the orphan's shoulders. "We know that home is a place where you can be angry, sad or even happy. But, no matter what emotion you're experiencing you still feel comfortable, because you're okay to be yourself. That the people there love you and want to help you, and that you're safe."

Nick's eyes filled with tears as he listened to Kevin quoting Kit's words. "Yeah!" he agreed wholeheartedly, hugging Kevin tightly. "I want Lendon to be my home!"

"Nickolas, I know this is what you want," Judge Topper assured him. "But, I wish you would all listen to me and understand that it simply isn't possible. Mr. Richardson cannot qualify to be a foster parent for various reasons and Mr. Dorough cannot even apply to be a foster parent."

"Well, then, I'll run away again!" Nick declared furiously, his blue eyes filling with angry tears.

"So, I will!" AJ threatened.

"Your Honor," Ms. Lorn cried out in exasperation, "I just don't know how to help these delinquents anymore!"

"Maybe I can help," an unidentified voice offered, the wooden door slowly opening to reveal the owner.

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