Lily straightened up and looked down at Jeremy, asleep on the little bed. After her surprise meeting with his father the day before, Lily woke up that morning and returned to her own house in Atlanta. She knew that Kevin would come looking for them but she thought she would make it a little harder for him by returning to her house in the city.
Turning around and shutting the light off, Lily exited the room and quietly closed the door, leaving it open a crack so she could hear him if he woke up. Sitting down on the couch in the living room, Lily's hands nearly shook in a mixture of anticipation and fear of what may happen soon. She didn't know if Kevin intended to take Jeremy away from her or share custody but she knew that he would be a part of his life. From the short time she had known Kevin she knew that he had always wanted children, and now that he had one he would want to be a part of his life.
As she sat and contemplated, her head snapped up when she heard the sound of squealing tires outside, followed by a car door being slammed shut. She didn't have to look out the window to see that Kevin had found them.
Lily sat quietly on the sofa and waited for Kevin. A few moments later he threw the door open, not bothering to knock. Standing with his hand on the doorknob, he looked at her silently. Lily stared back at him, appearing quite calm but truthfully her insides were in turmoil. Her heart was beating rapidly at seeing him again and her stomach was knotting painfully in anticipation of what he would say.
"Where is he?" he asked her quietly and almost inaudibly.
"He's asleep in his room." she said just as quietly. Kevin looked at her for a moment more before heading off to the back of the house. Lily jumped up from the couch and followed him as he opened door after door, searching for Jeremy's room. "Kevin, what are you doing?" she asked fearfully but received no answer.
Finally, Kevin came to Jeremy's room and, seeing him asleep on the tiny bed, quietly entered the room. Lily watched as he approached the bed and silently gazed down at his son. Watching the tender emotions cross his face, Lily felt her heart twist in her chest. She watched as he lovingly touched Jeremy's face and she could have sworn she saw tears gather in Kevin's eyes.
After gazing at Jeremy for a few moments, he looked up at Lily and said sharply "Get him dressed." and left the room to return to the living room. Lily, realizing that her worst fears were true, that he was taking Jeremy from her, followed him without doing what he said.
She entered the living room and found him standing by the window, looking out. Hearing her enter, he turned and looked at her. "Where is he? Did you dress him?" he said with barely controlled anger.
"Kevin..." she began but was interrupted by Kevin moving away from the window and moving toward her.
"Did you get him dressed, Lily?" he asked her threateningly.
"No!" she exploded "I didn't! You are NOT taking him away from me! I don't care what reason you give me!"
"I'm not planning on taking him away from you, Lily!" he answered just as loudly. "You are going too, so get him dressed!"
Lily frowned, thoroughly confused. "Where are you taking us?" she asked more quietly.
"You'll find out soon enough." he answered.
"No, tell me now. We are not going-"
"Fine!" he interrupted, taking her by the upper arms. "I'll tell you where we're going! We're going to the nearest courthouse and finding a judge as quickly as possible and we're getting married!"
Lily stood in shock for several moments with her mouth hanging open. Forcing his hands from her arms, she backed away from him, shaking her head.
"No, we're not." she said quietly.
"Yes we are Lily, go get ready."
"No!" she yelled, surprising him. "I am not going to do this! I refuse to spend the rest of my life with you just because you fell like since you got me pregnant you have to marry me! I will NOT be unhappy just because of your misplaced sense of duty!"
"Duty?! This has nothing to do with duty, Lily." he yelled back at her. "Do you have any idea what you've taken from me? Do you have any idea of what I've missed? He is my son Lily! And I don't even know what his full name is!"
"I understand you're angry Kevin but-"
"Angry isn't half of what I feel Lily! I've missed everything. His birth, his first words, his first steps. He is my son, Lily! I should have been here for that!" He stopped screaming at her and turned away, saying more quietly "I didn't even know he existed. If it hadn't been for Brian wanting to go to your parent's house, I still wouldn't know and I probably never would." Turning back to her he said "Now that I know about him, I refuse to just walk away from here."
"Kevin, we can't get married-"
"Fine!" he exploded again. "We won't get married if that's what you want! But don't think I won't leave here and find the most powerful lawyer I can and start the biggest custody battle you have ever seen! And then I WILL take him away from you!"
Lily glared at him silently, knowing he had won. Clenching her jaw in anger, she backed away from him and said "We'll be ready in ten minutes." and left the room to get Jeremy.
***************
The three of them, with Lily carrying Jeremy, exited the courthouse with no words exchanged. The "ceremony" had been brief and to the point, with them simply repeating their vows and the judge pronouncing them man and wife.
Lily hadn't asked how Kevin had obtained a marriage license so quickly or how he had gotten Jeremy's birth certificate changed so quickly either. Money has it's way of motivating people.
Looking down at the birth certificate now, sitting in Kevin's rental car, Lily sighed. Jeremy was now Jeremy Phillip Richardson and in place of the "unknown" under father's name it now read Kevin Scott Richardson.
Lily looked up from the birth certificate and became aware that Kevin was pulling into her driveway. Looking back at Jeremy, she saw that he was asleep in his car seat. She got out of the car and went to get Jeremy out but found that Kevin was already unfastening the seatbelt and getting him out. She watched as he gently picked him up and laid his head on his shoulder.
Kevin carried him inside and took him into the room he'd found him in earlier and shut the door behind them.
Lily busied herself with straightening up the living room and kitchen as she waited for Kevin to come out of Jeremy's room. As the time stretched on she began to get worried and walked back to Jeremy's room, quietly opening the door.
She saw Kevin sitting in the rocking chair by Jeremy's bed with Jeremy in his arms. Both of them were sound asleep. Once again Lily felt her heart twist at the sight. She closed the door quietly and went back to the kitchen to begin to cook dinner.
As she cooked, she heard Kevin come out of the bedroom and enter the living room. She walked into the living room and saw him putting on his jacket, preparing to leave.
"Are you not going to eat dinner?" she asked him.
"No, I'm going out." and with that he was gone, closing the door forcefully behind him.
